Rise of The Titans
by BonesBoy15
Summary: Through means unknown, a hero is taken from his home. He stops crimes not with the might of will, but with honed skills. Evil quakes in fear whenever The Lantern of The Green is near. Rated T for language.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Okay, so here's sort of a blend between my previous works. And this time, I'm not going it alone.**

 **Co-Written by Engineer4Ever**

 **E4E: God save me.**

 **BB15: Drama Queen.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Young Justice**_

 **Rise of the Titans**

 **1: The Green's Lantern**

* * *

 **2008**

It started, as always, with The Green. No, not the Light of Will, the spectrum color chosen by the immortal Guardians of Oa of which they chose to defend the Universe. No, The Green was the force that connected all plant life on Earth. It was falsely dubbed as 'Mother Nature' by the planet's dominant species, and for a good long while now, it has been ignored. That made it all the more surprising when It, since there really was no gender for a massive source of energy that seemed omniscient, was the first - if not the only - one to notice him. The Newcomer.

Thus, The Green sent forth one of its few agents, the only chosen agent to date. A creature not wholly man, not wholly flora, but something stuck in between.

The Swamp Thing.

The loyal agent of The Green ventured from his Louisiana swamps and ventured to the northwest. Swamp Thing ventured to the northern coastline of California. Travelling by subterranean means in order to avoid humans, he made it quickly to the national park filled with skyscraping redwoods, aptly dubbed The Redwood National Park.

Swamp Thing emerged in a small clearing, on the edge of a massive crater.

Within the center of the crater laid a blond boy. A boy that was clad in possibly the most bizarre orange outfit that Swamp Thing had ever seen on a human. A black band of some sort was wrapped around the boy's head, with a metal plate that had a leaf-like shape carved into it. Three thin lines, almost akin to a fox or cat's whiskers, adorned either side of the youth's face.

As he walked into the crater, the Swamp Thing felt a familiar tug in his body, in his soul.

 _He is one of us. One of The Green._

Swamp Thing did not argue with the echo of his powers. The boy was beaten, bruised, but still breathing, and with each breath taken, a small amount of nature's energy entered. Swamp Thing knew that the boy was special, not of this planet, but all the same belonged.

The terranean being knelt and slipped mossy arms under the boy's knees and back, being careful to not disrupt any unseen injuries. He lifted the boy from the crater and carried him out. As the first few specks of light danced across the boy's face, eyes cracked open.

"N-Nani…?" The croak of his voice was weak and weary. Swamp Thing did not know the tongue which with the boy spoke, but confusion and exhaustion was evident in his tone.

"Rest, my friend." His voice rumbled in his chest. Yellow eyes looked down at the closing ocular organs and a very small, hard to see smile crossed the Swamp Thing's face. "You are safe within The Green."

* * *

 **Bayou Bartholomew, 2010**

A set of white teeth tore into the skin of a fresh, shiny green apple. A content sigh escaped the mouth after the fruit was swallowed. Blue eyes watched the branches of the trees around him sway in the wind as their owner rested on a branch within the canopy, the occupied hand near the mouth while a ring-clad left hand rested over his waist. A light breeze rustled the blond locks of a familiar whisker-marked teenage boy.

The teen wore what were once bright orange slacks, now a dull, almost earthly brown. A mesh shirt covered his torso and arms, and over that was the remains of his bright orange jacket, now sleeveless due to the heat of his surroundings. As mentioned before, an emerald ring adored the middle finger of his left hand, an emissive green light escaping the lantern-like shape. The boy's headband, once proudly tied around his head, now acted as a belt to keep his pants up and his sandals had been fixed with torn rags. He looked like he lived off the land for quite some time, and frankly, he did.

A harsher breeze passed through the air and made the boy's relaxed smile turn into a large frown. "Yeah, yeah, I hear you. I was just taking a small lunch break."

With that, he stood up, tossed the remains of his apple away and leapt from his perch. The teen bounded off of or swung from other branches effortlessly until he finally reached the forest floor. The blond stretched his arms high above him and stifled a yawn. Now back on full alert after his lunch, the boy made his way to his sensei's chosen protectorate.

He travelled through the groves, past the vast amounts of flora and fungi until he reached a dark and damp swamp. The teen stood at the edge of the swamp's waters and folded his arms across his chest. He waited for about five minutes before his patience gave way.

"Oi, Sensei! Stop lurking around under there!"

After his the center of the swamp bubbled until a figure rose from its depths, wading towards the shoreline. Massive, bulky and dripping with the swamps' water - among other things - Swamp Thing towered over the blond boy. The teen's blue eyes blinked dully.

"That stopped being scary after the sixth time you did it."

"...You are no fun, Naruto Uzumaki." The Agent of The Green rumbled sourly to his student. The boy, Naruto, was the same one who he'd found two years ago in California. He was apparently from another dimension and had no recollection of what caused his sudden arrival. What he knew was that he'd just defeated a terrorist known as Pein and then passed out after the celebration. Next thing Naruto was aware of, he'd awoken on a different planet, in the presence of The Green's chosen hero.

"Well, try something new. Like from those films you told me about," Naruto said, rolling his eyes.

Swamp Thing stroked his chin thoughtfully. "I don't think they'd let me into picture shows."

"Yeah, no kidding." Naruto smirked and crossed his arms over his chest. "You'd stink up the place."

"Funny, Naruto Uzumaki. Very funny." Swamp Thing huffed. He made to say something more when he paused and turned to his right. Yellow eyes flashed brightly and his scowl became more prominent. "Do you feel that?"

"That's why I came to get you in the first place," Naruto said. His blue eyes had become a similar yellow as Swamp Thing's, only they were more toad-like and a line of orange had brushed over the top of his eyelids. Sage Mode, one of his few abilities that he recalled before he awoke in this strange new world. His left hand balled into a fist and the ring on his finger shone brightly. Swamp Thing released a deep growl of unease, one that made the entire forest quiver.

"Someone is abusing The Green. Who?" He demanded, his mind spreading through his protectorate to find the source.

"Someone who needs an ass-kicking." Naruto punched his right hand into his open palm. His ring shone again and his body was momentarily encased by light. When the light dimmed down, his attire had changed. He now wore a black long-sleeved shirt, the sleeves on his forearm bound in two places by green bands. A padded green flak jacket appeared over his shirt, and long black pants protected his legs. His sandals were cleaned up and green guards wrapped around his legs. The symbol of The Green's Lantern shone brightly on his back and either of his shoulders.

"They are _here_!" Swamp Thing snarled in offense. "Due northwest. Abuse The Green, in my home, no less...action _must_ be taken!"

"Wouldn't have it any other way," Naruto said firmly as a black mask formed over the lower side of his face and a matching headband formed around his head, The Green's symbol shining proudly in the center of his forehead. His eyelids' highlights, formerly orange, turned to a dark forest green to match the motif. (If he were honest, Naruto liked green as much as he did orange, if only for the memories of his home it gave him.)

"And you say I am one for theatrics." Swamp Thing snarled at his apprentice.

"Hey! I make this look good," Naruto said with a smirk as a thin green light outlined his body and he lifted off the ground.

"For who? The birds?" Swamp Thing mocked as he sank into the ground and left without another word.

"You're just jealous because Kakashi-sensei looks cooler than you," Naruto said, recalling how The Green's agent would brood whenever he brought the kooky, laidback jonin up. Naruto's eyes grew distant for a moment and he briefly wondered how his former sensei was before he shook it off. There was time to reminisce later.

Now, he had to fight for The Green.

* * *

"...That is _not_ normal." Naruto mumbled as he came to a stop beside his mentor. Swamp Thing growled in agreement. Before them was a massive plant - if the monstrosity could even be called a plant anymore - that was blended with technology and energies of the mystical sort.

"It is an abomination," he said lowly as he rose further from the ground. His eyes flared with energy. "It _must_ be destroyed!"

"So, what are you going to do? Siphon out whatever is giving it a boost?" Naruto asked since Swamp Thing had decades of knowledge about plants, and Naruto only had two years under his belt.

"I'm going to uproot it." Swamp Thing snarled as he charged forward. "By _force_!"

"...Works for me!" Naruto grinned and made his favorite hand seal. His ring shone brightly as his home dimension's unique energy built up and expanded from him. "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Multiple Shadow Clone Technique)."

A massive cloud of smoke erupted around him as multiple copies of the agent of nature-in-training were brought forth. The floating green-glowing teens numbering in the dozens looked at the original, each granted a limited amount of power by The Green, and awaited their orders. Naruto grinned beneath his mask and pointed at the dome-shaped facility.

"Alright guys, you know the drill," Naruto said. He couldn't see their faces, but he knew from the gleam in their eyes, they were eagerly anticipating the chaos they were about to unleash. "Wreck anything that's not natural."

"You got it, Oyabun!" The clones cheered before they shot down towards the dome. Naruto grinned and prepared to follow them when he caught sight of something that gave him pause.

 _...Is that...the Justice League_? Naruto had only heard about the famed league of superheroes from his sensei. Some good things, some bad things, but Swamp Thing was like that with everything. Anything that didn't pertain to The Green or the other elemental forces was considered unimportant by the Swamp-Thing.

Though the young green agent-in-training wondered why they all seemed to be kids roughly around his age.

And were fighting a group of nasty looking guys.

"...Hmm…" Naruto rubbed his chin. He held out his left hand. "Help sensei smash…" He held out his right hand. "Help group of kids against the ape-man. Sensei, group of kids, sensei, group of kids…"

"Third option." A deep, accent-heavy voice rumbled behind him. "Die."

"What? That's a terrible-oh, damn, dude, you're big." Naruto gawked at the muscle-bound guy in black tights with a bright yellow lightning bolt on his chest and a golden sash around his waist. The behemoth grinned sadistically and backhanded him with enough force to send him not only to the ground, but also through several trees. His flight was stopped by some very nice shrubs, which then quickly helped him to his feet.

"Thanks for the catch." He grunted out and aimed a glare at the large man that floated down to sneer at him. "That was a bad idea, knife-ears."

"I fail to see how, _boy_." The man drawled. He lifted his hands up and tendrils of lightning shot down from the cloudless sky. "You now face the power of Black Adam!"

"First of all I'm seventeen, jackass. I am _not_ a boy." Naruto growled. He thrust his left fist out and a massive green fist flew from his ring. The eyes of the man, Black Adam, went wide before he was sent flying into the bayou's forest. "And second, you say that like I should give a damn."

Naruto looked towards where his sensei had charged to and frowned. Something dispelled his clones, and it did so without being spotted. All at once. The only way that could happen was if-

His thoughts derailed as a massive root rose from the ground and wound around him.

"What...The hell!?" Naruto grit out as the snake-like root crushed him. He felt his stomach flip unpleasantly when he was suddenly pulled closer to the other teenage heroes, each currently under attack from a lightning blast of some sort. His masked chin was grabbed and turned so that he looked through squinted eyes at the one that caught him.

It was a woman who, while beautiful in any man's eyes including his own, had unnaturally light-green skin. It looked almost like she had chlorophyll instead of blood in her veins. Darker green patches were scattered along her body and a unitard made of vines covered her torso while long red hair trailed down from her scalp.

"What are you?" She asked breathlessly, her green eyes transfixed on his face.

"Lady, I could ask you the same question." Naruto managed to get out through his gritted teeth. Now, he hadn't seen a girl in two years - the life as a hermit's student was cruel in that particular regard - so, he was a touch tongue-tied.

That, and there was the whole giant root crushing his ribs thing going on. Breathing difficulties made it hard to talk to girls, go figure.

"Ivy!" Naruto tilted his head to see the jackass from before fly back into view. He looked absolutely livid. Good. Naruto loved making great, long-lasting first impressions. Black Adam pointed at the trapped blond. "Release him. His death will be by my hands!"

"No." The woman, Ivy, hissed at the meathead. She cupped Naruto's masked cheeks, and the root coiled protectively around him. Naruto groaned, his ribs were _not_ made for this sort of abuse. The redheaded woman glared at Black Adam. "He reminds me of my children, he feels like them! He is not to be harmed!"

"Woman, you test my patience!" Black Adam snarled with balled fists.

"Oh, you have patience?" Naruto asked. He couldn't help it. Really. Guys like Black Adam, smug and oozing superiority complexes, always brought out his playful side. He looked at the woman holding his face. "Hey, uh, any chance you can let me go? Starting to lose feeling in my legs."

"No, no. You must stay with me." Ivy purred to him, her fingers drifted down his neck and-whoa! Where was _that_ hand going?!

The man's eyes narrowed and the veins in his neck became visible as lightning came to life in his hands.

"You _dare_ flirt with a Green Lantern!? One of our foes?!"

That certainly made eyes, if not necks, snap over in their direction. Well, wasn't Naruto the popular one today? And-Okay, the root has to go.

Now.

"I. Said. Let. Me. _Go_!" Naruto cried out as his eyes shone with the Earth's Natural Energy. The symbol on his ring, headband, shoulders and back illuminated brightly before Naruto released another yell. His arms lifted up and tore through the root of the abomination, consequently knocking Ivy away in the process, before he was free. He glared at Black Adam, who glared right back.

"You will die, _boy_." Black Adam growled as the sky clouded overhead.

"Bring it, _grandpa._ " Naruto snarled in return. The two flew at each other and matched blows. If not for the enhanced strength of Sage Mode, Naruto knew he'd be more than outmatched. Still, he had Sage Mode and he had The Green's power to boost it lightly. Naruto caught a punch in his hand and threw a right straight that was caught.

"You are nothing, _Lantern_!" Black Adam snarled as they struggled against each other. "I am an Emperor! A Ruler! I was chosen by the Wizard and granted the Word of Power! I am a God!"

"...You know something, I was _really_ hoping you'd say something like that." Naruto grinned behind his mask. He reared his head back and flung it forward, smashing his skull against Adam's nose hard enough to send the older man flying back. Naruto grinned and held his left hand up, a green sphere growing in his palm. "Because I've faced a god before and lately, I've been _really_ bored!"

* * *

"Okay, so we have backup. I like this," Kid Flash said as he ducked under a beam of magical energy. He tripped over a stray root and slid to a stop on his face. "...I just had to jinx myself, didn't I?"

"I thought all the Lanterns were off in different locations!" Artemis shouted as she fired a trio of explosive arrows at Wotan, only to do no harm thanks to his energy shield. Her eye twitched. "I hate magic."

"Last I checked there were only three, none near our age." Superboy added as he charged at the magic user, only to be sent flying back from a blast to the chest. His partner, a genetically altered white wolf named Wolf, snarled and tried a similar attack, only to be pulled back by the ape-like Ultra Humanite.

"Superboy!" Miss Martian cried out in worry. She turned to attack Wotan telepathically, but reeled back as though she ran into a brick wall.

"Foolish Martian, as if such a measly mental assault would work on me." The enemy of Doctor Fate chuckled as he swept his hand through the air, arcs of yellow energy raining down on the young heroes.

Aqualad, with a thrust of his hand, released the electricity in his tattoos in a stream towards the magical attack, but proved futile. He scowled under the strain and looked at Miss Martian. _Any word from the Bioship?_

 _She's still recovering._ Miss Martian thought back as she got to her feet.

 _Well, tell her to hurry up!_ The youngest of the six, but arguably most experienced, mentally retorted as he flipped away from a violent blast of lightning. Robin landed on his knees and pulled out a few batarangs that he tossed at the mystic, only for them to explode prematurely. The masked boy wonder scowled. _That figures._

"Incoming!" The Team looked up and dove out of the way as Black Adam rocketed towards them. He hit the ground with a loud bang. No reprieve was given to the mystical villain as two sandaled feet slammed into his chest, knocking the air out of his lungs.

"I thought you were a god?" The Green Lantern mocked as he looked down at the villain, possibly grinning behind his mask. "A god of what? Eating dirt?"

Black Adam looked like he wanted to retort, but didn't have the air supply to do so. The Lantern floated off of the powerhouse and lifted his left hand. A green sphere wrapped around Black Adam, and the Lantern looked at the spellcaster hovering nearby.

"Oi! Does this trash belong to you? Last I checked, littering was a crime!" The Lantern cried out before he flung Adam at the spellcaster. The lightning assault cut off when Wotan dodged Black Adam, not even looking bothered that his fellow villain was just flung at terminal velocity.

Instead, the ancient spellcaster frowned towards the Lantern.

"Tch, so even The Green sends a child to face Wotan? I feel insulted."

"Hey, I was thinking whether to smash this place or help the kids here." The Lantern shrugged and crossed his arms. "Blame tall dark and pointy ears for making that choice for you." He glared at Wotan. "Still, you really ticked off my sensei. Nice job, by the way. As if he wasn't already distrusting of humanity."

"Your sensei…?" Wotan's eyes went wide and he looked towards the signal. "Joker! Atomic Skull! Vacate the facility and be cautious! The Swamp-!"

His words were cut off by a massive explosion that was echoed by Ivy's pained scream. The Team and the Lantern looked over at the woman to see her collapse to her knees, her eyes wide and in horror as the monstrous plant burned to the ground. Two figures jumped out of the smoke, one a man whose face looked like a skull, and the other...well, he got a response out of the Lantern.

"I thought clowns were supposed to be at the circus," he said, scratching his head. "And, you know, funny. Make you laugh with water-flowers and balloon animals, that sort of thing."

"...Is he being serious?" Robin asked lowly, while the rest of the Team looked just as surprised. To their knowledge, only someone who'd been living under a rock didn't know who The Joker was.

Wouldn't they be surprised if they knew that wasn't too far from the truth?

* * *

"You want to laugh, Mr. Green? I'll make you laugh," the clown said to Naruto, a crazed grin on his face. He drew two switchblades and launched himself at Naruto. The blond weaved through the wild slashes like they were child's play, which they honestly were in Naruto's humble opinion.

"C'mon, boy, don't you want to laugh!?" The clown asked, chuckling with each slash he attempted. "Let me put a smile on your face!"

"Hm, for some reason I get the feeling you're not going to tickle me with a feather." Naruto slid out of the way of another slice and then ducked down under a stab. His right fist flew into the clown's gut like a missile and he sent the clown flying. The clown hit the wall of the building hard enough to leave a spider web of cracks behind. Naruto winced. "Ooh, thought he had super durability or something."

Naruto suddenly felt sick, immeasurably sick. It was so alien a feeling that he dropped to his hands and knees, almost unable to breathe. He was _never_ sick, before he arrived to this Earth and after, it wasn't something that happened. His vitality was immensely high and he was almost always at peak health. So the sudden bout of...whatever this was, literally threw him for a loop.

"Keep on him, Count." The spellcaster's voice was warbled and distorted as Naruto tried to find the source of his pain. He saw through blurry eyes a man dressed in a suit with a cape draped over his shoulders, a cane in hand, and a strange device on his head.

"Not." Naruto burped a little and gagged before he swallowed down the bile that threatened to come up. "Cool."

The tortuous experience thankfully came to an end when the girl with the bow shot an arrow at the dick that was making him feel so ill. Naruto got back to his feet only to be abruptly tackled out of the way of a magic blast by the archer.

"You okay, Lantern?" The archer asked as she got to her feet and offered her hand to him.

"Who's Lantern?" Naruto returned, rubbing his head and taking the offered appendage to get to his feet. He looked around and spotted his new target. His eyes flashed red for the briefest of seconds before returning to their calm blue and then flaring back into bright yellow. "Dibs on the douche with the cane."

"We are not finished, _boy_!" A gravelly voice snarled at him. Naruto glanced over his shoulder at the rising Black Adam and then looked at the archer.

"Okay, change of plan. I'll take the wannabe god and you take the douche with the cane."

The girl smirked and drew an arrow. "Sounds fair, Lantern."

"Don't call me that," Naruto said lowly as he turned to face Black Adam. "Give him two in the ass for me, will you?"

"I'll certainly try."

Content with that answer, Naruto launched himself at the powerhouse, only to be blindsided by a beam of unfamiliar energy from the side. He slid along the ground and wound up beside the boy with the S on his shirt. The boy in question was knelt beside the large white wolf that had been knocked aside earlier.

"Oh, what hit me that time?" Naruto asked as he sat back up and held his burnt side. The boy with S on his shirt looked at him.

"I thought Green Lanterns were able to resist radioactive blasts."

"The hell is a Green Lantern?" Naruto asked. He got to his feet and rubbed his neck. "Wait, let me guess, a hero?"

"...Yeah...So if you're not a Lantern, then who are you?" The boy asked.

"Right now? Someone who's very, very, _very_ pissed off," Naruto said through a snarl as he glared at the skull-headed man and Black Adam. "You?"

"Superboy." The boy, Superboy, rose to his feet alongside the white wolf. "The guy that shot you is Atomic Skull, the other guy is-"

"Black Adam, yeah, we've met." Naruto muttered. He looked at Superboy and recalled the brief lesson on heroes his sensei gave him. "You're like Superman, right?"

"...Yes." Superboy grunted out, his fists tightening.

"That means you can take Skull-face's radiation."

"Let me guess. You want to fight Black Adam?"

"Am I that obvious?"

"Plan all you want, _children_. You will die all the same." Black Adam sneered at them as Atomic Skull dropped down beside him.

"...Kind of want to fight Black Adam," Superboy said under his breath.

"Get in line." Naruto hissed as the green light outlined his form again. He glared at the powerhouse villain. "Lightning Fart is mine."

"Come and kneel before your king, _boy_. Beg me for your life!" Adam shouted before he and Naruto flew at each other while Atomic Skull fired blasts of radiation at Superboy. Black Adam and Naruto rose into the air as they traded blows. Naruto took a shot to the jaw that made him flip back before he righted himself mid air. His stomach continued to flip and he almost took a devastating blow to the neck had he not used the seal-less substitution technique.

"Okay, now I'm _really_ mad." The blond glared at the Egyptian and held his hands up into his favorite technique's hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Three clones popped into existence beside Naruto and he held his hand in front of his body while one clone went to fend off Black Adam. The two other clones rotated chakra in Naruto's palm to form a sphere that grew and widened, becoming a massive spinning force of energy that Naruto had to hold above his head. The two clones vanished in plumes of smoke once their purpose was gone and the one fending off Black Adam willingly took a dispelling shot that shrouded the villain's vision.

"Here you go, Dirt-Eater!" Naruto shouted as he reared his hand back before he tossed the attack at the villain. "Futon: Rasenshuriken!"

Black Adam cut through the smoke that covered his vision and sneered at the attack sent his way. He fired a massive bolt of lightning at the Rasenshuriken from one hand, but the wind jutsu cut through the magical attack like it was made of paper. As horror spread across the villain's face, Wotan teleported in front of him and conjured an energy shield to protect them from the attack.

Wotan's face contorted in pain as his arms shook from the stress on his magical shield.

"Adam, leave!" He snarled out while the jutsu let out a loud shriek at the obstruction. "Now!"

Black Adam did as instructed just before the technique exploded into an expanding dome of microscopic wind blades. The yell of the sorcerer stuck within was lost to the ear-wrenching shriek that caused all those in the vicinity to cover their ears.

All save for the originator of the attack.

Who charged at the dumbfounded powerhouse with a war cry.

Naruto's right arm caught Black Adam around the neck and they dove for the ground. A good thirty feet from the ground, the blond stopped abruptly and spun. He used the added acceleration of his mid-air turn and the sudden descent to launch Black Adam headfirst into the dirt. The magically gifted villain hit the ground with an earthshaking boom, and then flopped to his back, unconscious. Wotan fell and landed nearby, just as unconscious and badly injured by the attack that he'd been at the epicenter of.

The green-clad blond's chest rose and fell as he quickly gathered more natural energy from his surroundings. The clones and Rasenshuriken followed by the chakra-assisted throw really took some of it out of him. Not to mention he was still a little off after that cane-holding bastard made him feel sick.

 _Speaking of which,_ Naruto thought as he looked down at the horrified count. The reason for the villain's abrupt emotional shift was lost on The Green's agent-in-training, but had he looked at the other heroes, he'd have seen a look of awe on their face.

Wotan was a _huge_ baddie, rivaling Dr. Fate and Zatara in magical renown and ability. Throw him in with Black Adam, who could go toe-to-toe with Superman himself and win, and you had yourself an already dangerous duo. To the Team, this new guy, some Green Lantern look-alike, had not only taken out Wotan with one attack, but just tossed Black Adam around like he was a rank amateur! That made their respect for him skyrocket, and the confidence in their chances rose just as fast.

"I did not sign up for this," Atomic Skull said, his voice raspy as he held up his hands.

"We can still emerge victorious!" Count Douche, as Naruto had dubbed him, snapped. "Do not surrender!"

"Surrendering would be your wisest choice of action, my friend." The stern warning came from above, and all eyes looked up. The villains felt dread and anger whereas the Team felt relieved and victorious.

Naruto just wondered why the heck the dude in blue had his underwear on the outside. He floated down alongside the other guy in green, who gave him an odd look.

"I've never seen you on Oa. You new to the Corps?" The masked hero asked as he lowered those incapable of flight to the ground.

"No idea what you're talking about. Nice spandex." Naruto smirked behind his mask while the older man frowned at him.

"I'm going to have to ask you a few questions about your ring."

"I'm going to have to tell you to piss off," Naruto said dryly. The man in green's nostrils flared and he narrowed his eyes.

"Listen, you little smart-mouth-" He was cut off as the man in red with the golden lightning bolt on his chest put a hand on his shoulder.

"Hal, I don't think now's the time." He whispered, unaware of the young hero's heightened senses.

 _So the guy's name was Hal, huh? Good to know,_ Naruto thought. He landed beside the green hero - seeing as no one present wore orange, he went with the second best option. The other heroes landed around the Injustice League, as the blue dude with his red undies on the outside called them, and the villains immediately surrendered.

Well...Almost immediately.

"No, no, no...The game's only just start-Urk!" The clown was cut off by a massive green hand of energy slammed into his body and made him collide with the wall once more.

"Dude, you lost. Deal with it." Naruto grumbled as he lowered his left hand and looked back at the other heroes, and villains. "What? Is something on my face? Did sensei draw on my face again!? I'll kill him!"

"...Are you _sure_ he's not a Green Lantern?" The red-suited lightning bolt man that looked like one of the teens asked the green-clad man.

"I'm pretty sure."

"Oh. Okay. Was just a little confused was all, you know, by the energy construct of green light. Glad that's cleared up."

"Flash, don't be a smartass," the black caped hero said firmly. He looked at the blue man with his undies on the outside, who nodded and went with a few other heroes, including the green-clad man, to apprehend Black Adam. The man in black turned to Naruto. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Batman."

"...That's arguably one of the dumbest names I've ever heard, but whatever. Your life." Naruto shrugged as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Uh, dude, what's your casket size?" The formerly-black-now-banana-colored suit-clad kid asked.

Naruto blinked. Why would this kid want to know his...oh, it's an Earthling innuendo! Well, two can play at this game! "I'm not into dudes, kid. Flattered, though."

"I-! That's! ...I'm just going to shut up now." The red-faced teen mumbled while the short boy and the red-clad hero, Flash, laughed.

The cutie of a green archer whistled, a smirk on her face. "Wow, I'm officially impressed. He shut up Kid Flash."

"Artemis!" The banana peel, Kid Flash, hissed.

"Well, almost."

"Enough. We need to discuss your performance in this battle." Batman's voice quieted the teens (and Flash) and he looked over at the Team. He gave them a brief nod. "It was more than satisfactory."

While the six teens and the genetically altered white wolf seemed pleased by that, Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, you sound like an Academy Instructor." He mumbled under his breath. He began to levitate up and away, ignoring the wide eyes of the rest of the League and the kids. Naruto nodded briefly at Superboy before he looked back at Batman. "So, everything seems fine here. You have all your crazies rounded up, yeah? Good, good. Word of advice: Get lost. Sensei doesn't like it when you humans come to his land."

Batman's eyes narrowed behind his cowl. "And who is your 'sensei'?"

The young agent-in-training smiled behind his mask. The man in green looked just as interested as the villain in his green sphere, Ivy, whose eyes he could _feel_ roaming over his body even without looking at her. Gross. Pushing that to the back of his mind, Naruto folded his arms over his chest.

"Alec Holland."

"...Team, get your things. We need to leave." Batman announced while the other members of the Justice League seemed to freeze at the name and Poison Ivy began to hyperventilate, her eyes darting at each shadow that moved. The younger heroes frowned and shared confused looks with each other, each wondering about the words from their mysterious aide. Before he could leave, Batman spoke to Naruto once more. "Who are you?"

"You can call me..." Naruto paused and looked away for a moment when he heard a whisper from The Green. He looked back at the caped crusader. "You can call me 'Sage'."

An object flew up and Naruto caught it with ease in his hand. He arched a brow at the strange device and looked back at Batman.

"We'll be in touch." The Bat of Gotham muttered lowly before he turned and apprehended the clown.

"Yeah, sure." Naruto shrugged indifferently and pocketed the device before he shot off towards his home.

The Green was safe for another day.

* * *

"You want me to _what_?!" Naruto asked as he stared at the moss-covered form of his sensei.

"You are to venture into the world and act as the voice of The Green." Swamp Thing instructed as he slowly began to seep into his marsh. "Nature needs an active, loud, and annoying voice such as yours out there to tell the world that it is alive."

"And you're not going because?" Naruto asked snidely.

"I scare children. It is not, as they say, good PR."

Naruto grumbled about nature needing politics now.

"Go. Travel to the Gay Harbor. Join the Heroes and spread the will of The Green." Swamp Thing ordered. Naruto did a double take.

"I'm sorry, you want me to go where?"

"The Gay Harbor, it is the town I believe the children of Heroes reside near." Swamp Thing elaborated. He blinked when his student continued to stare at him. "I split consciousness to ensure those of The White had left. The children spoke adamantly about a Gay Harbor."

"That explains the kid in the banana suit." Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully. He sighed and his ring flashed before he was back in what was now his 'Sage' attire. He floated off the ground and frowned at his sensei. "Alright, fine. I'll go...But I won't like it."

"I believe you will be pleasantly surprised, Naruto Uzumaki." Swamp Thing smiled at his apprentice's departure. One of the best things to happen to the creature once known as Alec Holland was to meet the Newcomer, it reminded him of life with his wife and daughter. The memories made Swamp Thing cringe and he slowly sank back into his marsh, hidden from the world, but there to defend it if needed.

As the blond flew off, he huffed under his breath. "I bet they live in an apartment building or something."

* * *

 **AN: Ahh, yeah, new and improved. YJ meets Naruto, Agent of The Green style.**

 **I know the plan was for a blue lantern and yeah, originally he was going to be one, but then I looked over at Earth 2...oh, Earth 2 of New 52, how you inspire me so.**

 **Thanks for reading folks! Now y'all know what to do!**

 **REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Okay, so here's sort of a blend between my previous works. And this time, I'm not going it alone.**

 **Co-Written by Engineer4Ever**

 **E4E: God, why aren't you here?**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Young Justice**_

 **Rise of the Titans**

 **2: The Team**

* * *

 **October 2010**

"That sopping, marsh-headed- He never told me which way to go!" Naruto grumbled under his breath as he hovered above the treetops somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains. At the moment, he was in a conundrum. His sensei let him fly off all awesome like that without telling him where the hell this Gay Harbor was! A rudimentary direction would've been fine, but _no_. Stupid overgrown-

A sudden beeping at his waist made Naruto look down at the device he was thrown earlier. Curious, he pulled the device from his waist and flipped it open. He held one end with a picture of headphones carved into it to his ear and spoke into what he believed to be the microphone.

"Hello?"

" _Sage._ "

"...Maybe. Who's asking?" Naruto inquired cautiously.

" _Batman._ "

"Oh! Broody Academy Instructor! Yeah, it's me. How can I help you?" Naruto asked in a friendly tone. He leaned back and floated in the air, lounged comfortably. It was something he abused often when he and his sensei would train, just to get on the moss-headed Agent of The Green's nerves.

" _I'm locked onto your current location._ "

Naruto blinked and looked around warily before he replied. "Well, that's not disturbing at all. How'd you manage that?"

" _Follow the instructions on the screen of your communicator and we'll meet._ " The line cut off abruptly.

"And he's just going to ignore me. Rude, but not unexpected from a human. What instructions? " Naruto muttered as he looked around the device before a projected sphere popped up. "Whoa! There they are. Okay, I'm little red dot, I guess." He squinted his eyes, looking at the map curiously as it zoomed into his position. "Huh, where's Gay Harbor? I mean, I see Happy Harbor, but..."

A whisper in the back of his mind drew Naruto's attention inward. Once it was finished speaking, he frowned.

"...Well, that's just stupid. Why use one word but mean a completely different thing? Does everything with these people have to be so difficult?" Naruto asked. He shook his head and followed the coordinates with only a few mistakes on his part. He'd own up to them, technology wasn't really his thing, so to speak. He arrived over a small mountain near a decently sized forest a few hours after the initial contact. The blond landed near the mountain and looked over at the woods. Seeing no-one else around he shrugged and popped down with his legs crossed and his hands in his lap.

A little exercise in meditation never hurt anyone.

* * *

Almost an hour later, that Green-suited guy from the day before, Hal, touched down near Naruto. Naruto had felt his presence, but said nothing until he had completely expelled the abundance of Natural Energy within him. He didn't want to accidentally appear hostile or overload his senses.

"Hey." Naruto got to his feet and waved one hand in an effort to be friendly. "That broody guy tell you to pick me up or something?"

"Something like that." Hal's lip quirked upward. He was covered in a green glow similar to Naruto's and he floated a few feet into the air. "Think you can keep up?"

"I think I can try." Naruto grinned back as he followed the man into the air. Despite their terrible first impression, he was starting to like this human. Even if he wore a bit too much spandex for his taste.

"We'll see. Your ring may look like mine, but I'm pretty sure it's a cheap knockoff."

"Says the man in _spandex_."

"It's a _uniform_." Hal stressed the word with a frown as they flew towards the city.

"Uh-huh, right. And I'm going to give up ramen." Naruto smiled behind his mask. He was so getting under the man's skin. Then again, that was his superpower if he was to listen to his sensei's words.

"I wanted to go to the nice little café down the block, but Batman wouldn't have it. Sorry kid." Hal waved his hand. "Bats says it was too exposed. Seriously, they have the best cheese fries in the state."

"What are 'cheese fries'?" Naruto asked, his brows furrowed in confusion. Hal looked at him in mild disbelief.

"Dear God, Swamp Thing really had you under a rock, didn't he?"

"I was in a meadow." Naruto sternly corrected. "Which literally had the best napping spot ever."

 _Shikamaru would have been green with envy. Ha,_ _Green! I'm a riot. Sensei doesn't understand my genius_ , Naruto thought with a chuckle.

"We'll try to ease you into society. One major food group at a time," Hal said solemnly.

"O-kay..." Naruto drawled. He looked down and frowned at the city. Cement, hard structures, a good lack of forest. Even Konoha had dirt roads and more foliage around it. "It looks so...quiet."

"Uh, that's a _city_ ," Hal said with an amused chuckle. He followed the younger hero's gaze and kept his smile up for any would be sky watchers. "Nothing's ever quiet down in one of those."

"No, that's not what I meant." Naruto shook his head. "The Green. It's practically absent from the area. It's weird to me."

"The Green?" Hal asked, looking at the blond teen in confusion. He looked ahead and frowned. "On second thought, just hold off until we meet back up with Bats."

"Fair enough." Naruto sighed. "So, what's your name...Hal-Man?"

The man stopped abruptly and summoned forth a green hand that wrapped around Naruto's body. He pulled the teen close and glared into his eyes. Or, at least, Naruto assumed he was glaring. The mask over his face obscured his eyes quite well.

"Where did you hear that?"

"Uh, yesterday? When your buddy 'Flash' whispered to you," Naruto said dryly. Hal stared at him, searching him for any sign of deceit before he sighed and willed the construct away. A white-gloved hand reached up and pinched his masked nose.

"Oh, great. You have super hearing," Hal said irritably.

Naruto just shrugged. "I guess. Not seeing the real issue here."

"Listen, kid-"

"Sage."

"I'm going to take a shot in the dark and say that's not your real name, is it?" Hal asked.

"Um, _duh_?" Naruto arched a brow. "Why would I tell any of you my real name? We just met."

"Hal is _my_ real name."

"...Well, that's stupid. Why would you use your real name in this sort of business?" Naruto asked, his arms crossed over his chest.

"...You're a cheeky little bastard, aren't you?" Hal asked lowly. Naruto gave him a big grin in place of a verbal response. The man shook his head and pointed at the symbol on his chest, similar to Naruto's, but fully connected and not made up of shapes. "See this? This means I'm a member of the Green Lantern Corps, we're basically the police of the Universe. On Earth, when I'm in my _uniform_ , I go by Green Lantern, or GL if you have to shorten it. Only my friends and fellow Green Lanterns can use my real name."

"...So, you're an Agent of The Green, but you work in space?" Naruto scratched his head. "How does that work? My ring gives out if I go too high off the ground."

That was a day Naruto would never forget. Neither would Swamp Thing, for that matter. After all, it wasn't every day that a blond sixteen year old fell from thirty thousand feet off the ground because his supposedly endless energy suddenly cut out. All Naruto could do from that day forth was thank the heavens and The Green for the soft foliage that surrounded Naruto's meadow.

"No, I-Listen, I'll explain it later after we meet up with Bats," Hal, or rather, Green Lantern said. He turned and began to fly off. He stopped and looked back. "Are you coming or not?"

Naruto blinked and resumed flying with the hero, confusion evident on his face. They flew for several minutes in silence, before Naruto thought of something and decided to indulge himself in query.

"I don't want to sound rude," he said, "but Broody guy sounds kind of like a dick. Do we have to talk with him?"

"Yes."

"Are you _sure_?"

"Kid, you want to know what the Green Lantern Corps are, right?"

"...Damn it."

* * *

After another five minutes, they finally arrived in a clearing within some woods. Back in the semblance of his comfort zone, Naruto took a deep breath, and then proceeded to choke a little.

"Man, even your _parks_ suck," he said sourly to the Lantern.

"Can you stop acting like a Hippy for five seconds?" Hal asked, a bit fed up with all the negativity towards the modern culture of his homeworld. He'd gotten enough of that on patrol through the rest of his sector. And on Oa.

"I don't even know what that means." Naruto deadpanned.

"It was an insult."

"Oh. _Harsh_. I thought you were a hero." Naruto frowned at the smirking man and then looked away pointedly. "Well, I'll be sure to remember that."

"Yeah, I'll bet." Hal chuckled as Batman, the blue guy with his undies on the outside and another guy that was dressed similarly to Hal walked out of the woods. The new Green Lantern had darker skin and his uniform looked more like something Naruto _might_ consider wearing. ...No, he wasn't really one for tights. They seemed very uncomfortable, especially in the groin area.

Unaware of the young man's thoughts beside him, Hal grinned at the three heroes. "Hey, Bats, how'd you manage to get here so fast?"

"I was here before you were. Surveying the area and ensuring that we'd be ready for anything." Batman replied coldly. Naruto arched a brow. For a moment, the hero sounded like a jonin. Not Kakashi-sensei, nobody was as cool as he was, but like some of the others he'd overheard. Maybe like Yamato-taichou. The caped crusader turned to the blond and narrowed his eyes behind his cowl. "I have questions for you, Sage."

Naruto crossed his arms in a show of annoyance. "Yeah, nice to see you again, too, Mr. Bat."

"Pleasantries can come later," Batman said firmly.

"...You must be terrible at fancy dinners. Like, _way_ worse than I am."

"He's got a bit of a mouth on him." Hal confessed with a quirked lip. Batman merely grunted in response.

The man in blue smiled and stepped forward, offering a hand. "We haven't had the pleasure. I'm Superman."

"Sage." Naruto greeted him with a cordial handshake. When he crossed his arms again, he tilted his head to the side. "...Why is your underwear on the outside?"

"Uh...I…" Superman faltered while Hal coughed into a fist to cover his laughter. The other Lantern guy frowned at Naruto. Batman remained impassive.

"Hey, it's cool. I don't judge." Naruto shrugged. "Just curious."

"You need to show some respect, kid. You're a Green Lantern, I'd thought Kilowag would've beat that into you first." The other Green Lantern stepped forward.

"I'm not a Green Lantern." "He's not a Green Lantern." Naruto and Batman simultaneously replied. Naruto sent the Gotham hero another small look of annoyance, but he was ignored. Again.

"Uh, Bats? I think I'd know a member of the Corps when I see one." The Green Lantern looked at Batman with a frown.

"He's got a ring, a green suit, and glowing constructs?" Hal listed off on his fingers. "Sounds like a Green Lantern to me."

"It's similiar, but he's an Agent of The Green. The very embodiment of nature itself." Batman lifted his arm and tapped into his gauntlet a few times. A holographic image appeared between them, one of Naruto's sensei, The Swamp Thing. "Currently, the only known Agent of The Green on our quote-unquote side is Dr. Alec Holland. He was a pioneer in the botany field over a hundred years ago, but after a tragic accident, he became the Swamp Thing, and has been defending the Green in Louisiana and around the world for the last century."

"Swamp Thing?" Hal frowned as the hologram disappeared. "Who in God's name would pick a name like that?"

"He's like something out of a lagoon. He said it was a movie, or picture show." Naruto looked around with narrowed eyes. He leaned in and whispered behind his hand, "He's little weird."

"Oh? Just a little?" Hal asked.

"Says the man in green tights." Naruto shot back with a hidden smirk, though the amusement was plain to see in his eyes.

"For the last time it's my _uniform_ , you little-!" Hal looked ready to strangle the teen.

"Let it go, Hal. He's just a punk," the other Green Lantern said.

"I'm not just a punk. I'm _the_ punk!" Naruto corrected proudly. He then leaned over to Superman and whispered. "What's a punk? That's a good thing, right?"

"Not in this sense," Superman said with a wry smile.

"...I stand by my claim!" Naruto decided. He'd been called a lot of things and if 'punk' was going to be added to that list, it wasn't the worst.

"Are you finished?" Batman asked.

"I'm good." Naruto grinned, giving the broody man a thumbs up.

"You and Flash can never meet." Hal muttered while he rubbed his temples.

"Well, technically, we already did." Naruto cheekily pointed out.

"...I gotta get out of here before I do something I'll regret." Hal grumbled as he was enveloped in a light green outline before he rose off the ground. Before he left, he pointed at the other Lantern. "Don't forget to check in on Guy, John."

"I know a Guy." Naruto mused, ignoring the look of confusion that struck the two lanterns. "Guy-sensei likes to wear green tights, too. I think you'd all hit it off."

"...On second thought, I'll go check in with Guy, John. You have fun with the kid." Hal decided before he shot off in a streak of green light. Naruto looked up and watched him go before he shrugged. He could only imagine what had bothered the Lantern so much. Pushing those thoughts aside, he returned his attention to Batman.

"Why were you out of Swamp Thing's domain?" Batman asked.

Naruto arched a brow. "We both work for The Green. Our domain is all of nature. So you'll have to be more specific."

"The bayou in Louisiana."

"Swamp Thing said I had to come here." Naruto crossed his arms and locked eyes with Batman. "'Act in the name of The Green' he said. You know, give nature that voice you humans like to ignore."

"We've gotten better about protecting the environment." Superman interjected.

"Oh yeah, sure. That's why you have fences around trees, or cut branches down to ensure they don't interfere with power lines," Naruto said with a roll of his eyes. He pointed at the ground they stood on. "You think this park is showing The Green that you care? Sorry to break it to you, but it's not. I can hardly hear The Green, it's so quiet. Heck, even The Red has a louder voice, and I'm only connected to that by a technicality!"

"Red?" The other Green Lantern, John, asked with narrowed eyes. He uncrossed his arms and stepped forward. "You're connected to the Red Lanterns!?"

"Lantern!" Batman cut in firmly. His cowled eyes narrowed as the Lantern stepped back.

"For the last time, I'm _not_ a Green Lantern or a Red Lantern or a freaking Pink Lantern!" Naruto groaned. He rubbed his face. "I'm talking about The Red! You know? The connection to all animal life?"

"...Bats?" John Lantern looked at Batman.

"Do you remember when we fought Queen Bee in '07?" Batman asked. The Lantern nodded. "B'wana Beast, the hero that assisted us, has a similar connection."

"So there is some force that connects animals? What is this, the Circle of Life?" The Green Lantern grunted.

"Aren't you the powered by the color of Willpower?" Batman shot back.

"...Alright, point taken." John Lantern grunted in defeat.

"The 'Color of Willpower'?" Naruto repeated dubiously. He snorted. "C'mon, you can't be serious."

"Oh really? And why is that?" The Green Lantern asked, a tad more than annoyed.

"Because although Green is cool..." Naruto trailed off as his outfit all-but vanished, save for the mask around the lower part of his face, leaving him in his orange and brown rags. "Orange is the color of the gods."

"And the Color of Avarice."

"...What'd you just say?" Naruto narrowed his now blue eyes.

"Orange, in the Emotional Color Spectrum, represents the emotion of Avarice." When Naruto blinked in confusion, John Lantern sighed. "Greed."

"Okay! Who fucked that up!?" Naruto demanded, his eyes flashing red for the briefest of seconds. "I'll rip his and/or her throats out!"

No one messed with orange on Naruto Uzumaki's watch!

"Just the way things are, punk." John Lantern informed him.

"I demand a revote! Make Avarice, I dunno, _purple_!"

"That's Compassion."

"Pink?"

"Love."

"Okay, should've seen that coming...Blue?"

"Hope."

"Fucking-! Okay, what about yellow?"

"That's the Light of Fear."

"...What the Hell is _wrong_ with this universe!?" Naruto asked furiously. He then paused and recalled his father's moniker, the reason for it, and rubbed his chin. "On second thought... What's Red?"

"Rage," the Lantern said.

"...Okay, well...Maybe it's not all wrong," Naruto said softly and _very_ reluctantly. Still, why did his beloved orange have to suffer? Being called the Color of Avarice, the unrighteousness of it all. Great, now he needed comfort ramen.

"Ahem," Superman said with an awkward cough that brought attention to him. "Well, with that debacle out of the way. Can we continue?"

"I guess," a notably more somber Naruto said. He clenched his left hand and re-donned his full Sage attire with a simple flash of Green. He arched a brow when they looked at him oddly. "What?"

"You just unmasked in front of us." Superman pointed out.

"...Ah, crap!" Naruto began to curse himself while Batman narrowed his eyes.

"How old are you?" The Caped Crusader asked the blond.

"What's it matter to you?" Naruto asked, looking up from his self scolding. Batman took another step forward and crossed his arms.

"It matters because we need to know if you're even mature enough to be in this line of work."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and growled. "Yeah, because the runt in the stoplight outfit is? Try again."

"While most of us agree that Robin is maybe too young for this line of work, I can assure you that he's very mature for his age and doesn't let that get in the way of what needs to be done," Superman said.

"Don't try that reverse psycho-what-its on me." Naruto jutted a finger at the blue spandex wearing man. "I've had to deal with a giant moss man for the past two years and only yesterday have I really felt like I had the slightest bit of fun."

"This isn't about having fun. It's about saving lives," John Lantern said firmly.

"Yeah, I get that. Really, but your priorities and my priorities vary," Naruto said. He pointed at the glowing symbol on his headband. "See this? This means I'm an Agent of the Green. I have a duty to protect the planet, _your_ planet, from danger. Not your people."

"So you'd let innocent lives end?" Batman asked.

"No! Kami, why is this so hard? Oh, I know! Because I've been living with a _moss-man_ for the past _two_ years!" Naruto shouted, glaring at the cowled hero. "I don't prioritize like you do, no I won't let innocent people die, but I have to put my duties first. Like, you, John, right?"

"Green Lantern." John Lantern corrected him sternly.

"Yes. That." Naruto rolled his eyes. "Hal said something about having a sector to patrol. I'm guessing he means in space, right?"

"Yeah."

"So he can't always be here on Earth, even when the situation may call for it?"

"At times, yes."

"Same for me," Naruto said. He took a deep breath and calmed down, connecting instantly with The Green. His eyes, now Toad yellow, opened and then he gestured to the park. "This? All this land, dedicated to 'preserving' nature, is _nothing_. Every day, there's thousands of miles of natural habitats that are being destroyed to make way for the surplus of humanity that is ever expanding. That isn't to say that I don't care about humanity. Where I'm from-"

"And that would be?" Batman insisted. Naruto glared at him and the air suddenly became thin.

"First all, rude. Secondly, that's hardly any of your business, Bat-Jerk." The Sage grit out.

"I beg to differ."

"Batman." Superman cut in. Shame he did, too, because Naruto was looking for any excuse to deck the man who was filled to the brim with withheld negative emotions. The guy was so full of angst and anger that it made Sasuke pale in comparison. Why he was considered 'good', Naruto had yet to see.

"Fine." Batman stepped back and nodded cordially. "Continue, Sage."

"Thank you, your Highness." Naruto gave a small curtsy and looked away from the hero. Ah, it was the small things in life. Naruto coughed into his fist and let Sage Mode escape him, again. The longer he was in it, his emotions were being influenced by the others he felt. Blue eyes looked back at Superman. "Anyway, like I was saying, where I'm from, we managed to keep our civilizations and nature intertwined."

"Sounds like a great place." Superman smiled. Naruto returned it with a smaller and slightly melancholy one of his own. Though that was thankfully hidden by his mask.

"Yeah, it wasn't so bad. Nearly died on my first venture out of the village, but...Er, I'm getting off point." Naruto shook his head, missing the looks of bewilderment that crossed The Green (John) Lantern's and Superman's faces whereas Batman's eyes merely narrowed before relaxing. Naruto rested his hands behind his back. "Point of the matter is, I want to help people, you wanted to talk to me about something, so what was it?"

"Well, initially, it was to learn why you were leaving the Swamp Thing's domain." Superman shrugged. "For the League, that is. I, however, wanted to see what you were about and, hearing that, have an offer for you."

"...I'm listening."

* * *

A redheaded, freckled youth lounged within the recreation room on a lazy-boy reclining chair. He had a big bowl of potato chips in his lap and his right arm was in a cast. His green eyes glanced over to the two boys seated on the couch, their thumbs tapping away at the buttons on the controllers in their hands.

"Come on, Kaldur! I got my chips on you, dude."

"Wally, quiet." The Atlantean teen hushed his friend as his eyes narrowed. "I'm concentrating."

"Concentrate all you want, Kaldur, because it won't do you any good." Superboy smirked as he mashed away on his controller. "I've been practicing."

"On easy mode?" The Atlantean quirked a brow and gained a smirk of his own when he delivered a devastating combo that put Superboy's character in the red. The cloned Kryptonian's smirk fell into a scowl.

"Lucky shot." Superboy grumbled.

"Luck had nothing to do with that, my friend." Kaldur'ahm chuckled. Their game came to an abrupt halt when the large television screen they were playing on fritzed out and an exclamation point appeared on screen.

" _Designation, Zero-One: Superman. Designation, Zero-Two: Batman. Designation, Alpha-Clearance: Guest._ "

"...I think we have company." Wally said, eating a handful of chips.

Superboy dumped his controller and got to his feet. "Come on, if both of them are here, you know it's important. Somehow."

The three boys met up with the rest of The Team on the way to the Zeta Tubes. Wally immediately sauntered up to Miss Martian's side, while a sunglasses and casually dressed Robin stood beside an equally amused, yet costumed, Artemis.

"So, how much you want to bet Wally flirts all the way to the Zeta Tubes?" Robin asked. His question earned a small grunt of annoyance from Superboy.

"No bet." Artemis replied, keeping her cowl firmly in place.

"Any reason for the costume?"

"Just got in from patrol over in a small city called Jump."

"Oh," Robin said with a nod. The seven members of The Team eventually came to their destination and were slightly surprised by who the 'Designated: Guest' was. Seeing the young Green Lantern alongside Superman and Batman caused excited murmurs to break out between them.

"What's he doing here?" Superboy asked the unofficial leader. Kaldur cracked a small smile.

"I believe our little clubhouse just got a new member."

"This is a pretty well lit cave. Your summer home, Batty?" The Lantern asked, smirking at the Caped Crusader.

"...He's got balls of steel." Wally mumbled. The redheaded hero looked back at the cloned hero. "Any relation?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Also, I'm not the only one here with super hearing," Superboy said, slightly annoyed at seeing his 'father' who evaded him on a regular basis.

Wally noticed Superman looking at him with a small smirk. "Er, no offense to the Man of Steel of course. I'm sure they are equally, steely. And I am just going to stop talking."

"I like this new guy already." Artemis grinned at Wally. "He makes the Wall-Man fumble."

"Please, I only fumble when I want to."

"So all the time?"

"Okay, I'm not that familiar with what counts as a victory in verbal warfare on this planet, but I'm pretty sure that's a point to her," The Lantern said with a laugh as he crossed his arms. Superman shook his head in amusement while both Miss Martian and Superboy perked up at hearing he wasn't from the world.

"Oh, who asked you?" The speedster scowled.

"No one, but your bruised pride is really easy to see."

"Really liking this guy. Plus, he's not so bad on the eyes." Artemis said, looking the new guy up and down with half-lidded eyes.

The Lantern audibly choked on his tongue and looked away as his face heated up. "Er, uh, thanks?"

"Who was the bruised one, again?" Wally asked, grinning cheekily.

"I've been living with a swamp guy for two years, cut me some slack." The Lantern frowned behind his mask.

"Wow, how did you survive?" Wally asked.

"Believe it or not, I have no idea." The Lantern shrugged.

"Are you done?" Batman asked dryly.

"Yeah, unless they have something else to say, I'm good."

"Good." Batman turned his attention to the gathered teens and stepped forward. "Team, listen up. Yesterday, when you faced the Injustice League, this individual and his ...teacher acted without any request by the League to aid you. From today forth, Sage will be part of your team and will assist you on missions."

"Partially." The Lantern, Sage, said pointedly. "I'm also going to be reintegrating myself with society so, uh...Yeah. That's a thing."

Wally grinned and sped towards the new guy, putting his good arm around Sage's shoulder. "Don't worry, man. We got the best education of modern society you can ask for. A one-hundred sixty inch, high-definition television with over a thousand channels. Plus Netflix."

"...I have no idea what the hell you just said." Sage deadpanned. Wally patted his shoulder consolingly.

"There, there. We'll make it all better soon."

"...When did you break your arm?" Sage asked. He pointed at the cast and arched a brow. "Did you get that when you tripped on that root?"

"...I think I hate you."

"We just met, how can you hate me?"

"Because you make _them_ smile!" Wally glowered at the grinning Artemis and Robin.

"Uh-huh," Sage said with a slow nod. He looked at Superman. "I thought you said these guys were trained?"

"I also said they were probably your age," Superman said with a small smirk.

"...I believe that's a point to you, Underoos." Sage deadpanned.

"Okay, hold up, you know what Underoos are but not what an high def television is?" Wally asked. He distanced himself from the newcomer and looked at the blond teen strangely. "What planet are you from?"

"Well, we called it Earth, but since that's not here, I'm guessing there's another self-named Earth out there." Sage muttered.

"So, what, you're from Earth _-2_?" Wally asked with a snort of disbelief.

"Let's not get into that." Superman objected after he and Batman shared a quick look. One that was not missed by Superboy. The Man of Steel coughed into his fist and smiled at Sage. "It's been nice meeting you, Sage, and I hope you settle in well."

"Sure, nice meeting you, too, Superman." Sage nodded and shook hands with the Man of Steel. The green-clad teen then looked at Batman and gave a brief nod, getting one in return.

"Choose a room to settle in. You'll be evaluated tomorrow on skills by the Team's Mother of the week." Batman informed. The two members of the Justice League walked back into the Zeta Tubes, their departure announced by the computer.

"Finally." Sage sighed as soon as they were gone and held his ring-bearing hand up. A flash of green light later and Sage was back to what could be called civilian clothes. A whiskered face beamed a smile at the dumbfounded teens and Sage gave a small wave. "Now that they're gone, I can chill. Name's Naruto Uzumaki. How's it goin'?"

"Uh, good to know, I guess. Why didn't you say anything in front of Superman or Batman?" Wally asked.

"Because I don't trust Batman." Naruto admitted while he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "The guy's making every 'emo'-sense I have go off. Nearly as bad as or _worse_ than this guy I know."

"...You know he's got the whole mountain bugged, right?" Robin asked, grinning.

"And I should care about insects...why?"

"Balls of Nth metal." Robin awed.

"I think he is unfamiliar with our terminology, Robin," Kaldur said with a hand on the younger boy's shoulder. He stepped forward and offered his hand. "Kaldur'ahm, otherwise known as Aqualad, but my friends call me Kaldur."

Naruto took the offered hand and shook it with a grin. "Nice to meet you, Kal. What'd you mean by technology? Like, a computer or radio or something?"

"How familiar are you with nano-tech?" Robin asked. He put a thumb on his chest. "Robin, by the way."

"Batman won't let him reveal his identity," Wally said with a snicker.

"Shut up, _Wallace_." Robin smirked

"Aw, _dude_!"

"And filing that away for future prank-er, notice," Naruto said with a grin as he shook Robin's hand. Putting his hands in his pockets, he shrugged. "I'll flat out admit it and just say I know diddly-squat."

"Well, I think we should introduce you to the internet." The Boy Wonder grinned broadly.

"...Why do we need to get into a net?" Naruto asked. He blinked and looked over at the two females when the girls snickered. "What? Was it something I said?"

"Okay, yeah, I'm so staying over tonight," Artemis said. She pulled her mask off and smiled at the newcomer. "Artemis. I'm the team's archer and Green Arrow's niece."

"Nice to meet you." Naruto smiled back and took her hand. As they shook hands, he blinked and leaned in to get a better look at her eyes. "Wow! You got really pretty eyes. Forest green, good color."

"Huh," Artemis smirked and gave Wally a look. "Not even five minutes here and he already can hit on a girl better than you."

"Er, uh, I wasn't...I mean, not that you're not pretty but I was just, er...What I want to say is-I think I'm just going to stop talking now." Naruto laughed nervously as his face heated up. Why was he stuck in the woods for years with his antisocial, mostly anti-human, teacher? Talking to pretty girls was never this difficult!

"Psh, naw, that's like a five, or a six out of ten flirt at best," Wally said with a scoff.

"I'm with Artemis. Way better than your moves, dude." Robin nodded with crossed arms. Kaldur rubbed his neck while Superboy nodded in agreement.

"You guys are the worst friends." Wally deadpanned.

Artemis' smirked turned into a wide grin. "Well, I think he's kinda cute. He's got a real down to earth vibe to him."

"Heh, I see what you did there," Naruto said with a laugh. He focused on the joke to ignore the embarrassment that came from being complimented.

"Yeah, and simple enough too." Wally huffed. Naruto narrowed his eyes at the teen.

"I'll remember that, Banana Peel." He muttered while he crossed his arms over his chest. He tilted his head. "...I think I hear water trickling."

"That's probably Wolf," Superboy said as he came forward. The two shook hands and Superboy cracked a small grin. "So, Green Lantern, huh?"

"For the love of - Why does everyone keep thinking I'm like Hal?" Naruto wondered with a groan. He rubbed his face. "It's...I'll explain it later…?"

"Superboy." The clone introduced himself. He nodded over at the last member of The Team when she floated over to land beside her secret boyfriend. "And this is Miss Martian."

"Actually, my name is M'gann, but you can call me Megan." Megan smiled and took the offered hand.

"Okay, I have to ask: Is every superhero girl _super_ pretty? Because I can get behind that, 'ttebayo." Naruto grinned as he shook Megan's hand. He noticed Superboy's eyes narrow slightly and his smile wiped into a frown.

Now, although not up to par with his social skills of the past, Naruto was gifted in the way that could read a face and determine someone's mood. Something super important to have when a former teammate communicated in grunts, scowls, smirks, and sneers. So, he could tell that

"Er, not that I'm hitting on you or something. Not that you shouldn't get it, but-Ugh, god, it was so much easier talking to trees." Naruto bemoaned and dropped his face into his hands.

Superboy's smile returned when Megan giggled. Robin laughed and Kaldur shook his head. Wally looked at Artemis smugly.

"Yeah, he's _so_ much better at flirting than me," the speedster said sarcastically.

Artemis returned the smug look. "A girl likes a guy who can tie his tongue."

"...What the heck is that supposed to mean?" Wally asked, dumbfounded. He looked at Robin when the boy fell onto his knees and started to laugh harder. "What? _What_?"

"Dude...I...You...I…"

"Robin try to pull yourself together," Kaldur said with a chuckle. He nodded at the distancing trio of Superboy, Megan and Naruto, who were talking animatedly about being roommates. Well, to be fair, Megan and Naruto were talking. "We've got a teammate to move in."

"Yeah, okay..." Robin sighed and wiped a tear from his eye as he got back to his feet. He caught up to Artemis, who followed if only to change into her spare set of clothes she kept in the Mountain, and grinned at her. "That was great."

"Don't have to tell me twice," Artemis said as she shared a fist-bump with the younger hero.

"...Since when are _they_ so chummy!?" Wally asked indignantly before he raced off to catch up with the group. Kaldur shook his head and simply smiled as he followed his teammates.

It was never boring as a hero.

* * *

 **AN: Man, nearly 100 reviews after one chapter? You guys were really stoked!**

 **E4E: What can we say? They love us.**

 **You make it seem like this brain baby was your idea - yes, you helped write it, but** _ **I**_ **came up with the Swampy-twist!**

 **E4E: Indeed, but I did help flesh things out. Especially with the later parts~!**

 **SHH! Spoilers!**

 **Next Time: The Team grows even further and a certain city on a certain coast hosts a cataclysmic threat in the form of a prepubescent girl.**

 **Be afraid.**

 **Be VERY afraid.**

 **REVIEWSYS!**


	3. Chapter 3

****AN: Okay, so here's sort of a blend between my previous works. And this time, I'm not going it alone.****

 ** **Co-Written by Engineer4Ever****

 ** **Disclaimer: I don't own**** ** _ **Naruto**_** ** **or**** ** _ **Young Justice**_** ** **! To my knowledge, there is no set Tamaranean dialect, so I've taken it upon myself to make my own.****

 ** **Rise of the Titans****

 ** **3: Falling Star****

* * *

 ** **October 2010****

A massive spacecraft of unknown origin passed by the gas giant Jupiter. It was spherical in shape and had an oscillating set of rings around it. Two notable cylindrical tubes protruded from what could be considered the front of the craft.

It was simple enough that Hal Jordan felt a quick warning from a Green Lantern such as himself would get the ship to turn around before it accidentally was spotted by Earth's militaries.

 _Though, that wouldn't be the first time,_ Hal thought in amusement as he made his way to the ship. He flew up to what his ring told him was the 'front' and manifested a giant fist to gently rap on the shell.

"Excuse me!" He called. "Hal Jordan, Green Lantern! Would you mind pulling over to the nearest asteroid and rolling your window down, please?"

Hal was completely blindsided when the forward left cannon suddenly turned and fired at him. The blast knocked him a good kilometer away, but ultimately left no damage. Righting himself in his flight, the Green Lantern shook his head and glared at the ship.

"Okay, so definitely not friendly. Ring, what am I dealing with here?" Hal looked at the galactic tool for peacekeeping and narrowed his eyes.

 _"Gordanian Slave Ship identified. Precaution: The Gordanians are well aware of the Green Lantern limitations and are capable fighters."_ The Ring's built in universal computer told him.

"Limitations? Yeah, okay. I got this." Hal smirked and flew at the slave ship. He created a kite shield of green energy and held it well out in front of him, deflecting shot after shot from the main cannon. A portion along the side of the ship suddenly opened up and fired at him, a solid beam about three feet in diameter breaking through the kite shield and knocking Hal back once again.

"...Okay, so maybe I don't got this." Hal glanced at his ring and he swore it was mocking him somehow. With a huff, he quickly thought up a giant rail spike and flew at the second beam, piercing through it and plugging the cannon until it overloaded and blew.

"Ha! What now?" Hal asked the large ship as he crossed his arms. Four more ports opened and cannons gleamed as they extended out. The bearer of the Green Lantern Ring blinked. "I'll admit it. I should've seen that coming."

So began another evade and plan maneuver. While this was going on, on the other side of the ship, a small one-seater shuttle launched from the main ship and headed for the only planet with notable amounts of life in the system.

* * *

Naruto had to admit, being part of The Team was a lot better than he'd thought it'd be.

Nice soft bed, a good hot shower, warm meals and Megan's cookies! Seriously, those were sin-worthy they were so good.

Not to mention there was an honest to goodness ramen shop just a mile away Robin had told him about. Frankly Naruto was sold with that alone. No, really. He wept tears of joy that The Green had given him such a blessing.

It earned him a few odd stares from his new teammates, but Naruto didn't care. There was Ramen on this rock. Finally! After years of craving and those horrid _months_ of withdrawal!

Wally had sworn Naruto shoveled the noodle-y goodness down faster than _he_ could. It was a good thing Robin said he was paying, because the little acrobat went home with an empty wallet that day. Considering who _really_ covered the cost, it was needless to say that Batman was much more annoyed than usual at the League meeting the day after.

"Man, could this place get any better?" Naruto wondered aloud as he sat with his team in the rec room. They had on a Discovery Channel special based on the wonders of technology, or more specifically, the wonders of smart phones. Naruto was half listening, far more dedicated to finishing his takeout ramen, and partially listening to Kaldur compare the technology of the 'surface world' with that of Atlantean mystical items.

On a side note, Naruto was sure that The Green wasn't particularly fond of humanity, and it definitely liked Atlanteans more than the surface dwelling bipeds if the way his ring hummed around Kaldur were any indication.

"How about you show us just what you can do?" A rich feminine voice asked and the team turned to see a woman in a black unitard with a choker around her neck and a dark leather jacket. Fishnet leggings tucked into black heeled boots. She was lean, looked mean, and from the muscle that was seen, was obviously a fighting machine.

"...The Green both loves me and hates me. I don't care right now, though." Naruto confessed as he swallowed some spit at seeing the beautiful as sin woman. "Going to ask again, but are all superheroines on this planet super pretty?"

"Aren't you the charmer?" The older blonde asked, cracking a small smile when the boy became flustered. Artemis, seated on Naruto's left and Robin's right, pointed a thumb at Wally, who was back in his claimed chair, and smirked.

"Better than this guy," she said.

"Oh, come on!" Wally tossed his arms in the air. "He didn't even use a line!"

"Maybe he's naturally that smooth."

"...I will _pretend_ you did not just say that." Wally grunted. He crossed his arms as best he could and groaned. "Can't I get some sympathy?"

"No." Artemis, Robin and Superboy smirked.

"You guys suck."

"The biggest of dick!" Naruto added before falling into a bundle of snickers. The Team and their den mother of the week deadpanned at him before Artemis looked at Wally.

"That? That right there? That's what your 'education' caused."

"South Park is the greatest way to learn the ins and outs of political and modern society in America!" Wally protested with a huff. "Besides, he delivered that perfectly."

"Maybe we should cancel the Netflix." Kaldur muttered. Superboy looked at him in horror. If they did that, how would the Boy of Steel finish _Soap_?

The blonde woman shook her head and crossed her arms.

"Kaldur, please turn the television off. Team, get dressed and meet me and the new guy in the training room."

"Yes ma'am." Kaldur said, taking the remote from the side table and powering down the entertainment screen.

"Training?" Naruto asked, his ears perked up instantly. His bowl was set aside and he was standing in front of the woman faster than even Kid Flash thought he could move. Naruto grinned. "When do we start!"

"Now that's a good attitude to have. Hope it's still there after a few rounds," the woman said with a smirk. "Black Canary, by the way."

"Sage." Naruto returned as he began to follow her to the training room. He suited up in a flash of light, all the while animatedly asking what they were going to learn, how long they were going to train, how often they could train, and so on.

"He was rather eager." Megan giggled.

"Well, with Black Canary teaching, who wouldn't be? Am I right?" Wally asked as he waggled his brows and gained a shameless grin on his face.

"Didn't you get flipped over faster than you could spell your name?" Robin asked as he followed Superboy and Miss Martian out to the training deck while Artemis and Kaldur headed for their rooms.

"Dude!"

"Really, Wallman? Don't you have any shame?" Artemis asked.

"I don't know miss tongue tied, do you?"

"How long did it take you to figure it out?"

"...I don't have to answer you." Wally grumbled as he followed Robin, since his injury prevented him from taking part. Artemis laughed as she ducked around the corner and Robin snickered.

"That long huh?" The Boy Wonder asked his friend.

"Let's just watch the new guy get his butt handed to him." Wally said, cradling his bowl of popcorn and plopping down in a seat nearby. Megan's clothes shifted into her 'work' uniform and she stood beside Superboy on the sidelines.

"So, rules?" Naruto cocked his head to the side while he loosened up his arms.

"No flashy bling." Black Canary said, pointing a finger towards his ring. Naruto shrugged and powered down, losing his costume. Canary shook her head when the boy took his ring off. "No. I meant no using your powers, I didn't say not to fight in uniform."

"Oh, well, if it's just a spar I don't think it matters." Naruto flashed her a big grin. "It's all fun, right?"

"...Did he just say fun?" Robin asked. Wally grinned and popped a handful of his snack into his mouth.

"Yep!" the speedster chirped around a full mouth. He swallowed and pumped his fist in the air. "Go Sage! Get your butt whipped!"

"What's he talking about?" Naruto asked, looking at Wally when the counter went off and the floor illuminated. A kick flew at his head and Naruto was nearly hit by it if not for his training. He backpedaled away and blocked the strikes thrown his way. A grin was soon across the ex-nomad's face.

"So you specialize in taijutsu? That's cool. I know a few guys like that. They were real tough, if not a few screws loose." Naruto blocked a kick to his ribs, and whipped his arm forward with his Frog Kata. Sure, he wasn't using Sage Mode, but that didn't mean the moves weren't effective. Then again, he was sort of used to leaving a mark even with a miss. Like he just did.

"Interesting, you fully intended to miss." Black Canary noted as she spun her hips and brought her other leg up to get a blow across Naruto's head.

The whiskered blond was knocked off his feet, but recovered with a handspring to his feet. He hopped back, his body loose and ready to spring at the drop of a pin. His grin was still plastered on his face, showing that her kick didn't phase him in the slightest.

"That style is pretty fluid." Black Canary mused and brought her arms up to block and counter a punch. "You seem very comfortable with it, too. How long have you been practicing it?"

"Hm?" Naruto hummed as they circled the ring, both ignorant of the wide eyed teens watching them. "Almost three years, I think. Give or take a month."

"Not bad," Black Canary said. She dropped down and swept the blond off of his feet. Again, he kipped back up in record time, doing so in a roll to get back to his feet. She smirked. "Not invincible, but it's not bad."

"Heh, I'm going to have to pay you back for that one, 'ttebayo." Naruto squinted his eyes and grinned in a foxy fashion. "Besides, it's true strength is hidden because I'm holding back."

"Really?" Black Canary asked, arching a brow and her smirk widening. "I thought it was odd. Your forced miss at the start and your recovery time didn't match up to anything I've seen before. You were getting up faster than what you dealt out."

"Ah." Naruto sheepishly laughed. He straightened up and rubbed the back of his neck. "You caught me! That style was designed for, uh, a particular power of mine."

"I guess we'll just have to see it." The blonde bombshell smiled. "Let's see this power."

"Uh, are you sure?" Naruto asked. "I thought you said no powers?"

"Does it activate with your ring?"

"Er, not really, kind of - It's complicated."

"Does it manifest as a weapon?"

"No." Naruto answered firmly.

"Then go for it." Black Canary offered.

"Okay, just remember you told me to," Naruto said and inhaled deeply. He clapped his hands together and exhaled. "This...is Sage Mode."

"...Did he just name his-?" Wally's question was cut off as a sudden tension that filled the air. The weight that fell down on the room made the other members of the Team straighten up and focus.

"Shh!" Robin hushed his friend, his eyes watching the newest member of the team intently from behind his sunglasses. Canary adjusted her stance, her face stern as she became very serious.

With his eyes still shut, Naruto bolted forward like a cannonball, leaping into the air and swung his arm downward for a chop. Black Canary evaded and was successful, or so she thought. It was a force of 'something' that slammed into her and knocked the heroine back. She recovered with a solid backflip, landing on a knee and holding her arm across her torso.

Where she had been previously standing, the floor was completely broken. Circuitry and tubes jutted out and sparked. Black Canary looked up from the impact sight to her newest student's face. What she saw made her blink.

Something akin to orange mascara had appeared Naruto's eyelids and his eyes themselves had turned from their vibrant blue to a murky yellow. A pair of pupils that reminded her of a toad's eyes stared at her and a small grin was back on the blond's face.

"I can see why missing is so effective for that style." She grunted and stood back up, bringing her arms back up. "I'd hate to get hit by the real deal."

Naruto scratched his whiskered cheek. "Yeah, it's...not a great experience. And I'd know."

He learned early on that Swamp Thing hit as hard as Fukasaku-sensei did. Go figure.

From the sidelines, The Team watched as the battle began anew, but this time Naruto was on the attack and Canary was forced to defend and counter, which were more effective than one would think. However, as she pointed out before, Naruto had a fast recovery time. It was hard for Black Canary to get the advantage back in her favor, but she was far from being on the ropes.

"For someone with similar powers to that of a Lantern, he is a formidable in hand to hand combat." Kaldur commented as he followed the battle to the last detail with keen eyes. He watched as Black Canary changed tactics again to target Naruto's joints.

"Not a fan of the eyes, though." Artemis shivered and rubbed her arm. "They remind me of a frog."

"That's nature guy for you." Wally pointed out with a cheeky grin. "You just watch. He'll be on his back and call uncle soon enough."

"On the upside, I think I have another sparring partner now," Superboy said with a smirk. "You get to break more often, Kaldur."

The rest of the Team chuckled or laughed with him.

They collectively winced when Naruto's overextended punch was countered by Black Canary's hip toss. The martial artist had a grimace of her own on her face from the impact that the missed blow left. She got off of the slightly dazed blond - poor Naruto had taken the fall back of the head first - and immediately turned around to drop a knee onto his chest.

 _And Ero-Sennin thought I'd never get a pretty woman on top of me. Ha! Wait until he hears about this when I get to the Pure Land! ...Then again, this probably wasn't what he meant,_ Naruto thought with a small laugh to himself. He reached up and pushed his palm against Black Canary's stomach when she looked at him in confusion. A shove later and he'd rolled back to his hands and feet. He was back upright just in time to turn and take a high roundhouse that tilted his head.

"...Ow?" Naruto blinked and stumbled away. He put a hand to his ear and when he pulled it back, stared at the blood that came from it in bewilderment. Looking for an answer, his gaze went to his sparring partner, who panted and grinned at him.

"Specific strikes can bring even Superman down, if you know where and how hard to hit," she said.

"Huh. Neat." Naruto stumbled back and shook his head.

She raised a brow. "Just neat?"

"What? It is."

"...You are a strange kid, Naruto."

"Not the first time I've heard that, believe it or not, 'ttebayo." Naruto laughed. He dropped out of Sage Mode and fell back to his rump. He chuckled again and rubbed his stomach when it rumbled loudly. "Ahh, I give, Canary-sensei. I'm still a little hungry, I guess."

"...Didn't he just eat seventeen bowls of ramen?" Wally asked the rest of The Team.

"And about five batches of Megan's 'gone bad' cookies." Robin added.

Megan sighed. "I still don't know what went wrong..."

All talk of the endless pit Naruto called his stomach came to an abrupt end when the Cave's alarm began to blare. The training room's massive screen illuminated the area and Batman appeared.

" _Team, we've got a problem_."

"Aw, go away, Broody-sensei. It's lunchtime." Naruto grumbled sourly under his breath. A swat to the head from Black Canary made him pout, but give the Caped Crusader his full attention.

"Nth balls the size of Texas!" Robin whispered in awe. He was shushed by Artemis.

" _Approximately two hours ago, Green Lantern Hal Jordan was returning from his sector patrol when he came across a Gordanian Slaver Ship. The battle has since ended and the aftermath is being taken care of by the Green Lanterns,_ " Batman said, not even acknowledging the Team's comments. His portion of the screen shrunk down and a larger screen displaying a coastal city. " _However, they've discovered that an emergency one-man escape pod has been launched and landed somewhere here in Jump City. Your mission is to find it and subdue whoever or whatever occupied it._ "

"Understood, Batman." Kaldur nodded. The Screen flickered out and he looked at his teammates. "You heard him. Everyone meet at the Bio-Ship. Except for-"

"Me, yeah, yeah." Wally waved them off and patted his bowl of popcorn. "I'll be fine, guys. Really. Just don't have too much fun kicking butt without me."

"...But, aren't you a runner?" Naruto asked after he manifested his mask to cover his face. Wally stared at him and the green-clad hero shook his head. "Never mind, forget I said anything."

"Done and done. Later newbie. Have fun!" Wally grinned as he zipped off towards the rec room.

"...Why do I get the feeling he doesn't want me to have fun?" Naruto muttered with furrowed brows.

"Just c'mon, rookie." Robin chuckled as he and the others made their way to the Bio-Ship. Naruto floated after them and landed beside the youngest of the Team with his arms crossed.

"Okay, one, I've been at this longer than you, kid. I even passed the academy back home. Sure, it was by a technicality, but it still counts!" Naruto huffed firmly at the masked boy.

"...You have a hero academy on your homeworld?" Robin asked. The rest of the Team looked back at Naruto, equally curious.

The Agent of The Green shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you could call it something like that."

"We can discuss Sage's education later. Right now, we have a mission. Miss Martian, be prepared to link us up when we arrive on sight. Sage, how familiar are you with telepathy?" Kaldur asked as he went into 'mission' mode. Naruto blinked, momentarily taken aback by the abrupt change in Kaldur's demeanor, before he answered.

"That's mind reading, right? A friend back home's family had focused on that, only it was an extreme." Naruto mused. Kaldur nodded in acceptance at the answer and then began to give the rest of The Team their instructions. Naruto's mouth fell into a frown behind his mask while he sat down in the Bio-Ship as his thoughts went to the Yamanaka Clan and then the village as a whole. His eyes stared off longingly at the sky as the ship took off.

 _I don't even remember what happened after I kicked Pein's ass. Was Baa-chan okay? Did anyone else die? Who was laid to rest?_ These and similar thoughts like them ran through Naruto's head. He ignored the others for most of the flight.

Up until a sharp nudge from Robin pulled him from his thoughts.

"Hm?" Naruto looked up. "What's up?"

"We're fifteen minutes out. You can fly, right?" Robin asked. Naruto nodded.

"Limited flight, so I can't go that high off of the ground, but high enough to get where I need to go."

"And you can create duplicates," Kaldur said. He rubbed his chin in thought. "How many can you make?"

"How many do you want?" Naruto asked after got up from his seat. The way that the safety strap automatically released and sank back into the chair was still a little unnerving, even though he'd managed to get over his initial surprise the first time.

"One hundred?" Kaldur asked. Naruto snorted and made his way over to the hole that appeared in the center of the Bio-Ship.

"If that's all, I won't even break a sweat."

"Wait, let me establish a link before you rush off!" Megan urged. Naruto stopped and waited while the Martian closed her eyes and reached out. What felt like a strange tickle on the back of his skull made Naruto scratch his head.

"Are there bugs in here? I feel like I just got bit by something." Naruto mused.

 _That was the mental link being established._ Megan's voice echoed. Naruto gave the green-skinned girl a bewildered look before he looked back at the hole.

"Huh, weird."

 _You can think your words now._ Kaldur's voice reverberated throughout the blond's head.

"I'm a very vocal person." Naruto grinned and gave the team leader a thumb's up. "I'll meet you down there, my clones and I will sweep the city."

 _Naruto, just think. It's better for the Team._

"Bah, fine. Tell you I'm a vocal person, but you tell me to shut up. Why does everyone tell me to shut up? It's like they don't like the sound of my voice or something." _At least, I know Sakura-chan didn't at first, but it grew on her, I think._ Naruto's rambling continued even after he jumped out of the Bio-Ship. He descended a good ten thousand feet before he connected fully with The Green and ascended to fly alongside the Martian Spacecraft. After he'd given his new teammates a cheeky wave, Naruto crossed his index and middle fingers in front of him.

 _Here we go!_ "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A massive cloud of smoke engulfed both the flying blond and the Bio-Ship. A second later and the Bio-Ship passed through the cloud. The Team stared in shock at the dozens of green clad teens that surrounded them.

 _All right, guys. We're off! Give us a holler if you need a hand!_ Naruto's thoughts echoed in the five teens' minds before the one that they presumed to be the original turned to his clones.

"First one to find the spaceship gets a bowl of Ramen!"

"Yatta!" The swarm of blond teens cried out before they shot off in streams of green towards Jump City

 _Who needs the internet when you can have your own personal ocean of blonds?_

"Artemis!" Megan gasped while the rest of The Team turned to their resident archer. The young girl snapped her head around to meet their gazes and immediately flushed.

 _...No one tells Wally about this._ Artemis thought as she turned to look out the window, avoiding her team's looks and trying to will the blood out of her cheeks.

* * *

The life of a Kage Bunshin was normally not a long one. Usually, when they were given life, it was for a brief time and for a mediocre task, such as doing laundry, or stirring noodles, or even to be used as a quick substitution. However, now that they were being used for a city-wide search for an escape pod and a rogue alien, the clones would be given time to develop their own thoughts on the matter.

Luckily for The Team they were not connected via telepathy to Naruto's clones. Each clone, while a portion of the original's chakra, was very much capable of their own thoughts, feelings and decisions. So while they were forced to listen to Naruto's constant stream of never ending thoughts on what type of ramen he was going to make for himself, they were saved from suffering at the same thoughts ninety-nine duplicates had.

Note that one duplicate had managed to not focus entirely on Ramen.

This one clone was thinking about one thing and one thing only.

 _Just how much food can this kid put away?_ The Naruto Clone wondered as he watched his quarry pig out on a meal she snatched from a fancy restaurant.

The girl was human-like in appearance, that much was certain, but even that was a stretch. Her skin was almost orange and her hair was a fiery mane that reached well below her waist. Emissive emerald eyes were closed as sounds of bliss escaped the young alien's throat. A purple armored suit adorned with dark gems covered her body.

The clone would've immediately called in the discover if not for one thing.

The alien looked like a prepubescent teenage girl, a year or so younger than Robin was.

 _Man, I really need to dispel and tell Oyabun...But I just can't look away,_ the clone thought. He rubbed his chin. _However, Oyabun needs to know...Hmm..._

"Kluurgan-mersha Gork! Bleegarf forganst!"

"What the hell was-Oh." The Clone blinked as the alien girl suddenly flew up to float across from him. Her hands gained glowing green spheres around them and the clone paled when her eyes narrowed. "Oh no."

* * *

 _Hey, uh, guys? I_ think _I found her._ Naruto thought. He rubbed his forehead and grimaced behind his mask. _Or my dead clone did._

 _Oh my god, did it really die?_ Artemis asked him.

 _Don't worry about it. They disappear into a big puff of smoke and their memories transfer to me._ Naruto thought as he casually brushed off the topic of the possible traumatic memories he could've suffered from. It wasn't a topic he liked to think about. _Anyway, our target from the escape pod is a little alien girl with orange skin, green eyes, long red hair, and purple clothes. She's got a temper and a wicked cool laser blast that hurts like a bitch!_

 _Do you have to swear?_ Megan asked tiredly.

 _What? Come on, I gotta censor my own mind? Do you know how difficult that is after who I trained under?_

 _Do not make me turn off this Mental Link mister!_

 _How is that a threat!?_

 _It is. Believe me._ Superboy deadpanned.

 _I-You-Just meet up with me, okay? Geez, I'll try to keep her in one place._ Naruto thought before he shot off towards where his clone was killed while the rest of his clones dispelled in small bunches at a time. Some on their own, others...who tried to keep the girl in place. Naruto grimaced.

 _Ow. Hey, guys. Be aware that she does not fight fair and aims low._

The blond watched as the alien girl wrecked a giant yellow truck in her attempt to squish one of his clones. A Hummer he believed it was called. The Green seemed pleased by her actions if the whispers that he alone heard was anything to go by.

"Huh, well, she can't be all bad." Naruto mused as he put his hands on his hips and drifted down after his last clone bit the dust. He landed and whistled sharply to get the alien girl's attention. When she whirled around to glare at him, he cracked a friendly grin behind his mask, his eyes closed as Kakashi-sensei's did not so long ago, and he lifted a hand in greeting. "Yo!"

"Finbar!"

The remains of the Hummer were thrown his way and Naruto manifested a large green hand to catch it.

"Now that wasn't very nice," he said to the wide-eyed alien. The girl gave him a closer look and focused intently on the symbol on his headband. She pointed at it and gained an elated smile.

"Guren Laga'ann!"

Naruto blinked and pointed at himself. "Uh, no, my name is Sage. Say-age."

"Guren Laga'ann, blorgmadish! Koriand'r, gra'nik Tamaran!" the girl said, putting a hand on her chest.

"Tamaran?" Naruto asked and she nodded furiously. The blond held his hand out. "Hello, Tamaran! Nice to meet you! Welcome to Earth."

The girl stared at his hand and then shook her head. She began to chatter again in her language and Naruto sighed.

Why is it always him?

* * *

The rest of the Team had arrived and came upon the sight of Naruto nodding to the animated young alien.

"It seems Sage is quite the diplomat," Kaldur said as he and the rest walked over to join their newest member. The young alien turned to see the Team and snarled, her hands gaining their green spheres.

"Hey, hey!" Sage got in between them and frowned down at the young girl. "They're my friends and on our side! No blasting."

The glow dimmed, but she continued to look at them suspiciously. Naruto sighed and looked back at the others.

"Thank _God_ you guys showed up. I have literally no idea what she's been saying for the past ten minutes," he said.

"We assumed you were conversing with her." Kaldur said.

"That would be like trying to talk to a dog." Naruto deadpanned. He tilted his head. _Then again, there was the Inuzuka Clan…_

"Who?" Superboy asked.

"Nothing. Anyone have any ideas on how to break the language barrier?" The green hero asked.

"I could read her mind?" Megan offered, but winced. "Oh wait, I probably shouldn't. Privacy and permission."

Kaldur gave her a gentle smile and put a hand on her shoulder. "I believe we can bend that rule this time, Miss Martian. It's for a good cause."

"A-Are you sure?"

"Yes, _please_." Naruto interlaced his hands in front of him. The green martian nodded and closed her eyes. The young alien jumped and went on full alert, ready to blast them all until she slowly calmed down.

"She's scared." Megan said after a long moment. The Martian furrowed her brows and focused further. "She managed to escape the slaver ship out of a lot of luck. She and her sister were on it, the Gordanians experimented on them. Her planet, Tamaran, was taken over by...a dark force. She's blocking it, but from what I can see...she's got nowhere to go."

Megan opened her eyes and looked at the younger alien girl sadly. She walked closer, prompting Superboy to take a solitary step forward, but stopped by Kaldur's hand. The Martian bent down to become eye level with the shorter girl. Megan smiled gently at the suspiciously staring alien. Then, to everyone's surprise, began to converse in the young Tamaranean's native language.

"Sur'kesh ta M'gann M'orss," Megan said, putting a hand on her chest as she did. The Tamaranean blinked and then beamed as she fell into the conversation. Naruto backed up and looked towards Superboy, pointing at the Martian with an arched brow.

"Does she do this often?"

"No. We haven't really gotten any new aliens around."

"...Uh, I'm technically an alien," Naruto said dryly.

"Yeah, but you spoke the native tongue," Superboy said pointedly. "This girl doesn't. She's like Megan, a stranger on a new world. Honestly? I think she's excited about it."

"You don't say." Naruto chuckled. He crossed his arms and tilted his head slightly when The Green whispered something to him. Naruto's eyes narrowed and he looked over at Kaldur. "Is the link still up?"

 _Does this answer your question?_ Kaldur asked telepathically.

 _Hey! Leave the smartass comments for the masters, Aqua-lard_ , Naruto thought back with a concealed playful smirk. His shoulders squared as he nodded over at the Tamaranean. _The escapee's being tracked. I can sense, or rather, The Green can tell that four non-natives are approaching us with hostile intent._

 _What do you propose?_ Kaldur asked. Naruto pointed at the girl.

 _We have to get her out of here and back to the Bio-Ship. Until Hal Lantern or someone else who can help her get settled in shows up_ , he thought. Naruto put a thumb on his chest. _I can run distraction and provide cover for you._

 _That's crazy. These are_ aliens _we're talking about. Who knows what they're loaded with?_ Robin pointed out. Naruto's eyes gained a twinkle before his orange pigments returned and his eyes became toad-like.

 _I'll be fine_. Naruto patted the younger boy on the head and laughed at the growl he got in return. He floated up and looked down at the Tamaranean when she looked at him in confusion. He gave her a two fingered salute.

"See ya around, kid." He bade the newcomer farewell before he shot off towards the four sources of ill-intent. Naruto smiled under his mask. "Cute kid, and fairly carefree, too. A whole lot of happiness under that fear."

 _Naruto, be careful._ Kaldur's thoughts echoed. Naruto rolled his eyes.

 _Yes,_ Sensei _. Geez, you're worse than Swamp Thing._

 _I'll try to take that as a compliment._

"Didn't mean it any other way." Naruto chuckled. He narrowed his eyes and his grin widened when The Green whispered in his ear. "Really, now? Well then, let's show them some good ol' Earthling hospitality!"

The Agent of the Green shot off in a stream of emerald light, his eyes narrowed and his mouth pulled back into a slightly overeager grin. Had his father seen the smile, the Fourth Hokage would've compared it to Naruto's late mother's smile that crossed her face during spars.

* * *

A fun fact about Gordanians, they didn't like to lose their prizes. They were classified by the Guardians of the Universe as a 'Savage' people. With traits of a reptilian lineage and a bloodthirsty warrior society, it was an apt categorization. However, this did not mean they were inept in the use of technology.

In fact, it could be argued that they were _forced_ to learn how to use technology in order to preserve their species. Most of today's living Gordanians were actually clones of their fallen forefathers, but since developing everlasting energy systems didn't fall in their strong suit, the Gordanians forced laborers from conquered planets to work in mines to gather the raw materials that would power their cloning machines.

Cruel though they were, they also learned to manipulate alien technology. Some of this technology included, but was most certainly not limited to, translators.

" _Earthlings_!" A gravelly voice croaked over a loud intercom drew attention from all throughout the Jump City. " _Give back Tamaranian! Or die!_ "

"Well, when they put it like that, how could you not want to surrender?" Robin asked dryly as he and the Team escorted the quiet Tamaranian to the Bio-Ship. The young girl hadn't spoken a word since Sage flew off to distract the pursuing forces.

"Not now, Robin." Megan frowned at the younger hero. She looked over at their guest. "Koriand'r, fresk nur kal?"

"...Guren Laga'ann, fo choso. Ure glesh forn chosorn!" The Tamaranian, Koriand'r, muttered lowly in return. The three Earthlings looked at their Martian friend.

"What did she say?" Kaldur asked.

"She commended Sage's bravery and declared that she'd show her own...Oh, hello Megan!" Megan clapped a hand over her face and turned to tell Koriand'r something, when the young girl shot off, going from zero to bullet speed faster than she could comprehend.

"...I take it she's not going out for ice cream, is she?" Artemis asked dryly.

"Probably not," Megan said with a grimace. She turned to the Team leader. "What should we do?"

"We pursue and protect her." Kaldur decided instantly. "Miss Martian, Superboy, get the Bio-Ship ready for evacuation. The rest of you are with me."

* * *

 **AN: Man, this chapter took some time to get finished. Mostly because I've been unsure whether to make it a super-long chapter like Eng makes or two chapters. I decided, today actually, on doing the latter.**

 **E4E: Excuse me for liking to give readers content!**

 **Yes, a LOT of content...You're lucky it's all relevant and good content, otherwise we'd have a problem.**

 **E4E: What _ever_.**

 **Whatever, your whatever! Now, dear readers, know what I-er- _we_ want y'all to do!**

 **REVIEW!**


	4. Chapter 4

****AN: Okay, so here's sort of a blend between my previous works. And this time, I'm not going it alone.****

 ** **Co-Written by Engineer4Ever****

 ** **E4E: SOMEONE HELP ME!****

 ** **Drama King, Woman Up!****

 ** **Disclaimer: I don't own**** ** _ **Naruto**_** ** **or**** ** _ **Young Justice**_** ** **! To my knowledge, there is no set Tamaranean dialect, so I've taken it upon myself to make my own.****

 ** **Rise of the Titans****

 ** **4: Expansion****

* * *

 ** **October 2010****

"Wow, these guys are _ugly_!" Naruto mumbled to himself from his perch. He was concealed within the branches of a tree that sat beneath the Gordanian ship, giving him a prime view of the small area. He watched a lone scout disembark from the ship and make its way through the park with some sort of weapon in its hands. It was completely unaware of The Green's youngest agent to date following him, leaping from branch to branch. How the thing didn't see the emissive green light that pierced through the foliage, Naruto didn't know.

 _Okay, first things first. Follow the scout, assess whether or not it is a threat, and then-_ Naruto's plan was thrown to the pits when the scout was struck by a glowing green ball of energy. A familiar yell was the only warning the alien got before something flew into the dazed Gordanian that sent it flying towards Naruto. The blond's eyes went wide and he thrust his ring-bearing hand forward. A large green brick wall appeared in front of the tree he was in and the Gordanian smacked into it. The Green's Lantern left his perch to catch the infuriated Tamaranian before she could fly at the Gordanian again.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Ease off there, kid!" Naruto said. He kept his arms wrapped around the prepubescent alien's stomach and dug his heels into the ground. The young Tamaranian slipped out of his grip and resumed her charge. Naruto growled and pointed his ring at her. "I said that's _enough_!"

Green chains emerged from Naruto's ring, wrapped around the girl and impaled themselves into the ground. The constructs caused Koriand'r's flight to come to an abrupt halt and she was introduced to the dirt. Once she shook off her daze, she found him standing over her, and frowned.

"Guren Laga'ann, corgish-blaard snarf!" Koriand'r exclaimed. Naruto stared at her before he rubbed his eyes.

"By the forgotten name of the Rikudo Sennin, we have _got_ to do something about this language barrier!" He muttered. Naruto knelt down and met her gaze with his own. He pointed at her. "Koriand'r. _Stay_."

To the teen's relief, the young alien pouted and stopped struggling, her shoulders slumped with resigned acceptance. At least she understood the tone without knowing what it was he said. Naruto turned his attention to the other alien. The reptilian creature let out a soft moan and was in the process of lifting itself from the ground. Naruto squared his shoulders and approached the beast. He grabbed it by what he presumed to be its shoulder and forced it to face him.

"Hi, the name's Sage!" Naruto chirped with a raised hand. The brief introduction was followed by a swift and brutal left hook that knocked the Gordanian scout through the construct that initially caught it. Ignoring the ruined brick wall as it dissipated, Naruto stood over the groaning reptilian while he popped his knuckles. "Welcome to Earth."

"Human, give Tamaranian!" The Gordanian snarled. Naruto expected the alien to respond, sure, but he wasn't expecting broken English that made his first attempts all those years ago seem like a master's. The attempted punch, on the other hand, was more than enough to shake the blond teen from his initial surprise. He blocked the thrown punch and delivered a swift blow into the alien's throat. The Gordanian gagged and stumbled back, before it fell to a knee and grabbed at its neck.

"Yeah, about that. See, where I'm from, indentured servitude and prisoners of war were _way_ too common for my liking," Naruto said. He crossed his arms and glared down at the choking alien. "So your request? Consider it vehemently _denied_."

"We...Destroy...You!" The scout hissed. Naruto grabbed the collar of its armor and lifted the reptilian from the ground until it was well over his head. He really _loved_ abusing Sage Mode.

"Funny! I don't think you understand so let me spell it out for you: _you_ will get back on your ship and tell your friends that this planet is _off_ - _limits_ ," The blond ordered. The lizard-man glared down at him - at least, he thought it glared - before a bark escaped its throat. Five more Gordanians shimmered into existence around him. All were armed with alien weaponry that were aimed his way, and the barrels were glowing.

"And suddenly I don't feel so confident anymore," Naruto said. He glared up at the Gordanian in his grasp when it started to let out garbled chirps. The noise sounded similar to a dark chuckle. Maybe a chortle. Either way, he thought it was annoying. "What are you laughing at, lizard-breath?"

"Human. Outnumbered. Outgunned. Like stupid Green Lantern." The Gordanian hissed out. It looked up at the overhead ship and then back down at the blond. A vicious smirk crossed the alien's snout. "Give Tamaranian, or we destroy city."

"With what? The _six_ of you?" Naruto snorted and smirked at the sneering alien. "Newsflash, Chuckles, I never said _I_ was alone."

One of the surrounding Gordanians flew forward when the laughing boy wonder swung in from a tree branch. It's head collided with a rock and it fell to the ground, still.

"Chuckles! That's a good one," Robin said. He dropped into a crouch to sweep the feet out from under the next nearest Gordanian. When he did, two green arrows flew over his head and impacted against the chests of two more Gordanians. The arrowheads exploded and encased the aliens in rubber cement. The final Gordanian was snagged around the neck by a long stream of water and then whipped into a nearby tree.

The tree did not resist the alien's weight.

"Oi! Watch the collateral, Aqua-Lard!" Naruto scowled at the Atlantean that emerged from the shadows with Artemis at his side. The archer had an arrow knocked at the ready and fired it down into the face of the Gordanian that Robin had swept from its feet, which pinned the lizard-man with more rubber cement.

"My apologies, Sage," Aqualad deadpanned. He holstered his water-bearers and crossed his arms. "I was under the assumption that, given the circumstances, the tree would be willing to lend me a hand."

"I'll let it slide this time." Naruto grumbled. He looked back to address the alien in his grasp, only to be greeted by a ruthless headbutt that caused him to release the Gordanian. He stumbled back and fell to his knee, left wide open to suffer a blow to his already throbbing head, knocking him straight into the dirt, where he lay dazed for a good moment. The Gordanian lifted something from its belt and hissed into it.

"Communicator!" Robin called out just as Artemis released an arrow. The projectiles hit their mark, knocking the item from the Gordanian's grasp. The lizard-man snarled and leapt to catch the device, but Koriand'r, freed from her binds by Naruto's lack of attention, tackled it to the ground. Her emissive eyes were as bright as the sun while she dealt blow after blow into her captor's face.

"Koriand'r! Koriand'r, stop!" Naruto, back on his feet although moving with a drunken grace, wrapped his arms around the girl's sides and pulled her off. She shrieked and yelled her protest, throwing a final green bolt of energy at the Gordanian that blew off a chunk of its face. The alien flopped to its back, cursing and wailing. Its' yells of pain being met with those of anger and anguish from its freed slave.

"Naruto, _down_!" Robin's warning came almost a second too late. Another Gordanian, the one previously downed by Aqualad and the sacrificial tree, was back on his feet and had its rifle aimed at The Green's Lantern and the Tamaranian. Naruto dropped, twisting himself so that the younger girl was protected by his body, and Robin tossed a red batarang. It was lodged in the alien's rifle and the weapon promptly exploded.

Naruto, once The Green assured him that Koriand'r wasn't hit, shot up from his place on the ground and rushed the alien. The Green enshrouded him with emerald light as he drove his shoulder into its gut. He pulled himself up to straddle the Gordanian, grabbed the crest of its head, and reeled his arm back. The punch knocked the lizard out cold. He sat there, straddling its immobile form, and panted.

Aqualad came up from behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Good job," he said. Naruto nodded, his hand ached despite his healing factor and The Green's protection. He took another deep breath and then got off of the Gordanian's body. He stumbled a bit, caught by The Team's field leader.

"Easy," Aqualad said. "You're strong, but you can't fight with a concussion."

"I'll be fine. Just ...just gimme a second," Naruto mumbled. He blinked and shook the stars out of his eyes, then rubbed them with his good hand. The Green told him he would be fine, that the initial headbutt had broken his connection with Nature for a millisecond. He blinked his green eyes and groaned. "I hate reptiles."

"Juregnosh," Koriand'r's voice made the two boys look at her. She was being helped to her feet by Robin, and stood a good head taller than him. She stared at the boy wonder for a heartbeat, before grabbing his shirt.

"Hey, what're y-!?" Robin's complaint was muffled when Koriand'r pressed her lips against his. It looked forced, firm and a little uncomfortable, but a kiss was a kiss.

"Well, that's one way for her to show her gratitude," Artemis said.

"Wally is really going to wish he didn't miss this mission," Aqualad said. He had a small smirk on his face, one Naruto knew he'd have if his head and hand didn't hurt so much. "We made another friend, fought some aliens, and saw Robin get his first kiss."

"Yeah, speaking of, I think he's turning purple," Artemis said. She walked over to the two preteens, prepared to separate them, but Koriand'r broke away first. The Tamaranian gave a light smile to the dazed cape crusader, before she tore away from him and launched herself at Naruto, who was so glad to be held upright by Aqualad.

"Thank you, Green Lantern!" Koriand'r squeezed and Naruto heard something crack. With a hand on the girl's hair, he weakly returned the hug and looked at his other two teammates.

"Okay, I know I must have some serious head trauma, because I could swear that she just spoke English."

"Yes. She did." Their unanimous and slow, disbelieving retort made Naruto give a slow nod.

"Then I didn't imagine that, did I?" They shook their heads and he nodded again, before wheezing. "Cool. I'm going to pass out now."

Koriand'r was the only one surprised when he followed through on his word.

* * *

Needless to say, Tamaraneans are strong. Very strong. Super strong, even. Go figure, an alien was super strong on Earth. They should just make it a norm.

Koriand'r, or Kori as she insisted they call her, had accidentally cracked a rib when she hugged Naruto into unconsciousness. When he awoke on the Bioship, she almost did it again whilst she apologized. It took a lot of assurances that yes, he was fine and no, he was not mad at her, but eventually the young Koriand'r stopped fretting enough to explain to them (sans a still unresponsive and auto-pilot mode Robin) how she could suddenly speak and understand their language.

"Tamaraneans can integrate most spoken language by pressing our oral muscles against those of another race," Koriand'r said as she sat next to Naruto, her eyes wandering across the ship's hull. She looked at Megan with a small smile. "I had to perform the act with a Glurdle-Skletch once."

"My sympathies," the Martian said with a wince. At their questioning stare, a mental image was projected into their minds: that of a green blob with snouts dripping with what one might call slime. The rest of the Team, again sans Robin (whose mind was eerily blank), turned an unnatural shade of green and shuddered.

"Thank you. I only wish I could have performed the act sooner, but I was...I was still suffering from Gorp-Gorp," Koriand'r's cheeks darkened in shame. The group turned to Megan again.

"A bloodlust state," she said. "From what I've gleaned, it's common at this point in Kori's life to become overwhelmed by her emotions."

"Could it be a problem?" Kaldur asked. The Team looked at him and he arched a brow. "I meant if she were going to stay, would we accidentally trigger-?"

"No, at least, I don't think we'd have too much of a problem if we did. It would be an accident and we can't hold her accountable for her species' biology, at least not yet," M'gann said. She frowned. "Batman might not see it that way, though."

"He might throw her a welcoming party." Superboy smirked. His fellow teens laughed, and Naruto gave a small chuckle while Koriand'r looked around, confused.

"I'm sorry, is the party of welcoming a joke on Earth?" She asked. Naruto grinned at her and patted her head, watching with pride and nostalgia as the girl _preened_ from his touch. Konohamaru and his gang were the last ones to give him such adorable looks. He squashed down the painful pang in his chest and focused on Koriand'r.

"Broody-sensei is a stuck up jerk, Kori. He's got a piñata stick up his-"

" _Naruto_!" Megan and Kaldur snapped. Artemis had a hand over her mouth and her shoulders shook while Superboy was fighting back a grin. Robin continued to stare dead ahead.

"What? I was going to say butt! Despite what I said earlier I _can_ censor myself, dattebayo!" Naruto said, frowning at the two. He looked back at the younger alien girl and smiled. "Don't take it personally. Batman wouldn't throw a party for anyone, not just you."

"He might insist," Superboy said, nodding at Robin. "He's been quiet for about two hours now."

"Oh, that's normal." Koriand'r chirped, waving off the catatonic boy. "Tamaranian transference often results in states like that. Likely because of the energy shared between the two organisms."

 _Right, and getting Frenched by a cute alien girl has_ nothing _to do with it,_ Artemis' thoughts resonated through the group. Kaldur and Megan glared at her with flushed cheeks while Naruto and Superboy laughed outright.

"Oh, it hurts a little to laugh," Naruto said when his laughter died down. He frowned and looked at Kaldur. "What else happened while I was out?"

"The League's dealing with the Gordanian troops. The Green Lanterns were not happy to see them and told us to return to The Cave," Kaldur said. "Green Lantern Jordan in particular looked absolutely livid."

"I don't doubt it," Naruto said. He felt Koriand'r grab his hand and looked down at her. She was examining his ring, her emissive eyes squinted into slits and her lips pinched together in a pout. The girl was going to be dangerous once she grew a bit more, but for now she looked positively adorable. "Want one? I know a guy, er-Thing..."

"Please, am I incorrect or is not the Oan oath inscribed on every Green Lantern Ring?" Koriand'r asked.

"I'm/He's not a Green Lantern," the older teens said, though Naruto's response was more exasperated while his teammates were amused. Koriand'r tilted her head and let his hand fall.

"But-but your constructs of green light and your uniform? Is that not the symbol of Oa"

"I'm an Agent of The Green, the essence of plant life and nature on Earth. I'm pretty much useless in space," Naruto said with a shrug. "Shot in the dark, but maybe because Earth has three of the space Green Lanterns, The Green took on the symbol to an extent."

"Aren't you giving plants a bit too much credit? I mean, they're _plants_ ," Superboy said. Naruto arched a brow.

"Big things come from small packages, Superboy. You yourself were created from a few strands of DNA," he said. Superboy rolled his eyes.

"He does have a point," Artemis said. She then grinned at her fellow blond. "Although, I didn't think you'd know what DNA was used for, _Swamp-Lad_."

"Don't call me that. And I like to learn about things that interest me, so what?" Naruto pouted. He hated that his intelligence often became a target for his teammates' amusement. He was stuck with Swamp Thing for almost two years on this miserable world, was it so hard to believe his education was lacking? Then again, at least they didn't meet him before...They'd rail into him harder than Sakura and her punches would.

"And DNA interests you?" Artemis pressed, her grin becoming a sly smirk. Naruto furrowed his brows for a moment before it clicked and he grinned.

"I _am_ turning eighteen on Sunday, so yeah, I think DNA and _everything_ related to it is interesting. Doesn't it interest _you_?" he asked in turn. The two continued to stare at each other, while Koriand'r watched on in confusion and the others shared a look. After a moment Kaldur nodded at Megan, who closed her eyes. A second later, they snapped open, her cheeks flushed and the bioship dropped a few feet.

"Hey!" Naruto broke his stare off and glared at the Martian girl after the turbulence passed. "What's with the lousy flying?"

"I can't believe you two were thinking about-about-!" Words from books, images from films, and a whole lot of heated feelings flowed through Megan's link, not all of it originally hers. Robin's head dipped forward, signalling his unconscious state, while the rest of The Team flushed.

"Megan! Please, rein it in!" Kaldur said, doing his best to keep his composure. Superboy fared little better, his eyes firmly locked on a panel of the ship's floor. Naruto fumbled for words and Artemis cleared her throat awkwardly, the two blondes pointedly avoided the other's gaze.

"Sorry! I, just-Sorry!" Megan turned her chair away and broke the mind link to focus on the flight. An awkward and tense silence hung over the group. Naruto was almost grateful when he felt a tug on his sleeve, and turned to look at the newcomer.

"Lantern of The Green," Koriand'r looked a little unsettled. He hoped it was from the jarred flight, and not from the group message that went around. Her orange skin seemed pale and her eyes dim. "Could we perhaps journey...that is to say, could we not fly in the Bioship of Mars?"

"Yes! Er, yeah, uh, I mean," Naruto said, looking at Kaldur. "Think we could meet you back at the mountain?"

"That...would probably be best," the Atlantean teen said. He looked at Megan. "Megan-?"

"Door's open," Megan said, her voice tight from embarrassment. Once ship's side door opened, Naruto and Koriand'r's seat belts were off and the two jumped out with little regard to their safety. The door sealed shut and the awkward silence carried for a good ten minutes.

"...So, Artemis-?" Kaldur began, in an attempt to lighten the mood. He was met with a stony glare, one that made his lips snap shut. The girl's green mask did little to hide the coloring of her face and ears.

"Don't you start." The archer grit out. That would have been the end of it, but Kaldur was determined to be a good leader to his team. He had to hold them together, especially after his secret nearly tore them apart.

"Still, if we arrive at the mountain all stoic, Wally will-"

"Wally won't hear about this because it _never_ happened," Artemis said, her edge dulling, but still present. She glanced at the other two members of the team. "Right, guys?"

"Yep!" Megan squeaked.

Superboy grunted.

"Besides, he'll want to bother Robin for all the juicy details," Artemis said, her tone lighter as she glanced at the unconscious Boy Wonder. A smile returned to her face and the faces of the others when they followed her gaze

Kaldur sighed in acceptance and relaxed. At least the tension was lifted.

"Wait," Superboy said, looking up. "Did Naruto say he was turning eighteen on Sunday?"

* * *

"Thank Kami you pulled me out of that, Kori," Naruto said as he and Koriand'r flew ahead of the Ship. It was much easier to think, let alone breathe, when he was flying on his own, away from the Ship. "That was more awkward than the time I had to infiltrate a girls' onsen for my teacher. Stupid pervert almost got me killed with that stunt, but I escaped by the skin of my teeth, 'ttebayo."

"Your teeth has skin? Do you possess the retractable teeth like the Phaernox of Itchipelaga?" Koriand'r asked while she barrel rolled around him.

"What? No, it's a figure of speech," Naruto said, his eyes spinning to follow the excitable alien. He shook his head to rid himself of the dizziness. "It means I barely got away with my life."

"Oh. That is good, the Phaernox are notable hostile creatures able to conceal themselves in plain sight," Koriand'r said with a nod. She came to fly at Naruto's side, smiling widely. "Do you think that your League of Justice will allow me to stay?"

"As much of a brooding jerk Broo-er, Batman is, I don't think he'll turn you away, Kori," Naruto said. He grinned. "And Underoos will insist you stay, he's kind of the alien spokesman. Nice guy. I think you'll like him."

"Oh, I do hope so! M'gann has showed me so much of the Earth's culture. The _Hello Megan_ looked very entertaining!" Koriand'r said with an excited nod.

"The _what_?"

* * *

 **AN: I'm still alive!**

 **Yeah, so from here on out, the chapters will become a might shorter. Life's become** ** _real_** **so, yeah, gotta deal with that. To keep updating - and yes, I** **will** **be updating SHDG and VA - chapter length has to go down.  
**

 **That aside, y'all know what we want from you!**

 **REVIEW!**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Okay, so here's sort of a blend between my previous works. And this time, I'm not going it alone.**

 **Co-Written by Engineer4Ever**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Young Justice**_ **! To my knowledge, there is no set Tamaranean dialect, so I've taken it upon myself to make my own.**

 **Rise of the Titans**

 **5: Humanity**

* * *

 **Mt. Justice, October 10th, 2010**

A buzzing alarm clock was shattered beneath a glowing green anvil.

Two green eyes stared up at the rock that acted as a ceiling. Naruto had told the Team's Babysitter of the Month that he didn't require an alarm clock. The Green always told him the official mark of a new day; it told him when the Earth had started its rotation once again. That moment came five hours and forty-three seconds ago, at one in the morning. Just shy of four hours after The Team had turned in for the night.

If he weren't so burdened with the appreciation of the notion of sleep and welcomed his ability to live without it, he would be grateful to The Green for bothering to tell him. Since that wasn't the case, one could understand why he was a tad irritable. It wasn't solely due to The Green's impeccable sense of time, either, because as previously stated, Naruto could survive without his sleep. Like a plant, he just had to meditate and absorb some Natural Chakra for a bit.

Or take a cat nap around noon.

The thought of the latter made him groan and pull his pillow up over his head.

" _Naruto, come in and play~!_ "

The sing-song tone did not go well with the deep, growling bass voice that had used it. Most days, Naruto could ignore his tenant. Hell, the bastard chose to sleep most of the time anyway. On the rare few occasions that they did interact, it was somewhat cordial, if one could call demands of freedom or threats of violence intertwined with snide-filled barbs cordial. However, today, he had to confront and engage with it, and he dreaded what would come.

The Red's Avatar was very talkative throughout the first week in Mt. Justice. He should've known better than to hope it would let him sleep in today. It was going to be chatty today, it was going to try something sneaky and he would have to be at his best. So, once he got out of bed, he headed to the showers. When finished with that, he went to the Zeta Tube, entered the coordinates he wanted to go to - Yellowstone was always nice this time of year - and then left.

On the one day of the year that most people wanted celebrate with others, Naruto needed to spend alone.

* * *

"It is a glorious morning on this Day of Sun!" Koriand'r beamed as she floated into Mt. Justice's kitchen. She was greeted with a laugh from her fellow housemate, Megan. She was flipping through a cookbook while simultaneously using her telekinesis to stir a batter-filled bowl.

"It's Sunday, Kori, not Day of Sun. It's a day of the Earth week," Megan said. "I take it you slept well?"

"Oh yes, Friend-M'gann! I slept like a Rargn'r of Malchio'Scht!" Koriand'r said. She floated over to investigate the book that Megan was reading. Her short red brows furrowed together. "Megan, what is a 'cake'? And why is it needed for a day of birth?"

"A birthday cake is traditionally used to celebrate the creation day of a close friend or relative," Megan said. "And we found out a few days ago that today is Naruto's eighteenth birthday. We thought we'd surprise him with a party."

"Oh, I love the joy of a surprise gathering! That is most wonderful news! I cannot wait to celebrate Friend-Naruto's creation-er, birthday!" Koriand'r said, flying around the kitchen lights. She was so excited at the prospect of doing something for the Lantern of The Green, who treated her like the youth she was, but didn't coddle her like some of the other teens did. He answered her questions as best he could and helped her practice her control over her super strength over the past day. He was firm, but kind, which reminded her of her lost K'norfka, Galfore, although he was much smaller. She paused mid flight and then floated back to Megan's side when another thought struck her.

"Um, I noticed that you signaled out that this is Naruto's eighteenth year of existence," she said. "Is there a particular significance to that?"

"On Earth, particularly here in the United States, Eighteen is the age that one becomes an adult," Megan said. The Martian girl smiled. "By those standards, he is our senior, but still the newest member of the Team."

"I thought that I the newest member, am I not?" Koriand'r asked, her head tilted.

"You have a few more training sessions to go before you're considered ready for a mission," Megan said. Koriand'r slumped down in disappointment and her shoes clacked against the ground. The Martian clapped her hands together to regain the Tamaranean's attention and the cookbook closed, before being set on the shelf via telekinesis. "In the meantime, maybe I can teach you some tricks in the kitchen! Superboy doesn't, er, he's not so good in the kitchen-"

"I heard that!" the clone in question called from his room. Megan winced while Koriand'r giggled. She thought the Kryptonian was a good match for her Martian friend.

"I'm going to have to apologize later," Megan said, mostly to herself, before she smiled at the younger alien. "And Naruto, well, as he's said, he lived alone for most of his life and instant noodles aren't exactly healthy."

A chill went down both girls' spines and Wolf suddenly howled. Megan and Koriand'r shared a concerned look, but ultimately let the matter drop. They hoped nothing would come from it.

In an effort to escape the ominous feeling that had overcome them, Megan floated over a second large clean bowl and a carton of eggs.

"First, we'll get in a bit of control training as well as cooking. I'll show you how to break an egg, then I'll need three more added into the mix," she said. Koriand'r nodded and watched the demonstration, noting the angle and little amount of force that Megan used on the egg.

"Earthlings are so fragile," Koriand'r said wistfully. Most of the inhabitable planets in the Universe had creatures or even plants that could kill Kryptonians and Tamaraneans with ease. She shook the thought away when Megan told her to try. To her surprise, she struggled with picking an egg up, noting that she couldn't base her strength off of what she saw. She would either grip too hard and crush the egg or too soft and the egg would slip from her grasp to shatter on the counter.

"Earth is also young and weak compared to most civilizations. That's why my uncle J'onn and I are here, to help protect them from those who would try and abuse their intuitive nature," Megan said. She slipped behind the girl and held her hand, giving her an example. "Try using as little force as possible to grasp it, like this."

Koriand'r, though frustrated, nodded and let Megan help her learn. It took fifteen minutes, and about three dozen eggs, but eventually she succeeded. Then, Megan went back to her bowl and let the Tamaranean work it out herself. All the while, the two girls discussed how life on Earth was different, but worth protecting.

Their conversation was overheard by their den mother of the week, and though tempted to throw her own thoughts in, since she was one of those Earthlings, Black Canary decided to sit back and watch. She would wait until after they finished baking to tell them that Naruto had already headed out a few hours prior.

* * *

 **Yellowstone, October 10th, 2010**

The peace of Yellowstone eased Naruto into a tranquil state of mind. Several birds and other small furry animals had gathered around his and his breathing slowed to near nonexistence. Soft winds that made the trees dance around the clearing, and a song only he could hear was not heard.

Within the confounds of his mind, things were a touch different.

* * *

The blond sat up in the center of his mindscape. The once dark and dreary sewer had changed into a shadowy swamp, its waters clouded and murky. The walls were absent, but a constant yet faint green light from his ring and symbols illuminated the area around him.

"Humph, finally manage to pry yourself away from the nuisances? Those _children_ you chose to associate with annoy me."

The rumbling voice came from a gigantic red-orange vulpine that was trapped behind interlocked green bars. Its ears were akin to a rabbit's while nine long tails curled and swayed from its backside. The fox towered over him easily, and would possibly match the size of Mt. Justice if he could comprehend a being of such stature. Around the creature was a faint, but notable, red light, and a similar lantern to The Green's was visible in the center of its forehead, a darker red to contrast the fox's fur.

This was the bane of Konohagakure no Sato: The Kyuubi no Kitsune.

"Everything annoys you," Naruto said to his tenant as he rose to his feet and stared it down. The mighty beast scoffed at him and looked the other way, settling down on its forepaws, which had opposable thumbs. The blond let out a soft sigh and frowned.

Ever since he first "celebrated" his birthday on this new world and they had been appointed their respective roles, the two would try and attempt to negotiate a way to coexist and cooperate. The reason being that he was an Avatar of The Green and the Kyuubi, or Kurama (as it had introduced itself the year before), had become an Avatar of The Red. The two Life-Forces were allied, in a way, and had urged to their respective Avatars that unity was better than animosity.

Begrudgingly, they agreed to try, but in the three long years that they've been present on this Earth, they've been locked in a stalemate. Mostly due to the distrust that they had for each other.

Lives forced together by hate didn't mix well with antagonistic personalities.

Their disagreements had to be settled, and soon. They didn't speak about it, but they could feel that something was coming. Something that would need them to step up.

"Okay, F- _Kurama_ ," Naruto said, trying to abate his tenant's anger by using its name. "We have to get our acts together, 'ttebayo. Things are changing, you know it and I know it. It isn't going to be as peaceful as the last three years were."

"Really now? Just because _your_ life is so difficult I should kneel to you?" Kurama asked, sneering down at its warden. "Why should I submit to you when I could crush you like the bug you are?"

"Argh! You always do this! It's not about you or me!" Naruto glared up at The Red's Fox. "It's about the planet! About our Life-Forces! If _you_ can't see that, then I don't understand why The Red even picked you!"

"Because with me here, I am the mightiest extension of The Red's will, even your jumbled flowerpot of a teacher would concede to that," Kurama said. It had a smirk on its face, and he stared at it before groaning.

"You're such a cocky bastard!"

"And you are a loud-mouthed, hairless ape!"

"Go lick yourself!"

"Poison yourself with your beloved noodles!"

The two were locked in a deadly glare, his enraged green eyes meeting the fox's furious red. Only the intertwined green bars kept them from being nose-to-body.

"Fine! Be stubborn!" Naruto said, throwing his hands up in defeat. He turned and began to walk away with a thunderous stride, and added over his shoulder. "I'm willing to work together, I'm at least trying, but if you can't even get past your ego- I don't know what'll happen when we get in over our heads!"

"My ego? _My_ ego? You think I'm so full of myself that I don't know that?" Kurama snarled, back on its feet. It stamped its paw and a red wall shot up a few steps in front of Naruto. "Face me, _boy_! We are not finished yet!"

"What do you want from me?" Naruto asked, whirling around and glaring at the monstrous creature. "I'm trying-!"

"To make me submit to _your_ thoughts! To _your_ beliefs!" Kurama said. Its tails whisked behind it in a fury. "I am not a tool for you to use, _shinobi_! I am a living being, and you _will_ treat me as such!"

"Do you agree to treat me the same?" Naruto countered. "You continue to threaten my life! I'm a living being, too, Kurama!"

The fox bristled, its maw twisting threateningly.

"You think I don't treat you as a creature?" Kurama asked lowly. A chill went down Naruto's spine as it pressed its forehead against the green bars. "I acknowledge your humanity, your gender, your indomitable will, your intelligence - what little of it there is - and your occupation, but never have I considered you an unfeeling, emotionless _thing_. I never labeled you a monster, boy. Those villagers you loved so much, they labeled you that. And why did they do it? Why did they treat you like a thing, instead of a human? Instead of a child?"

"Because of-!" The words died on Naruto's lips and his eyes widened. Any anger he had washed away in that moment. Kurama settled back, its bristled fur smoothing and its snarl dropped from its face. Its eyes remained locked with his.

"Say it, Naruto Uzumaki." Kurama's eyes narrowed when he ducked his head and looked away. Its lips curled again into another snarl. "I said say it!"

"Because of..." He trailed off again, his throat thick as guilt overwhelmed him. He swallowed in an attempt to clear it away, but only managed to whisper. "Because of you."

"And you call me the monster," Kurama said, snorting and letting its head fall to rest on its crossed paws. "Humans. You all think so much of yourselves, all so arrogant and proud, but have the gall to be offended when called out on it. I'd respect your race if I didn't hate it so much. All you do is fight."

"That's...This isn't our home, Kurama. These humans aren't like-"

"Aren't they?" Kurama challenged. "I know this world's history as you do, and forgive me if I'm wrong, but why does this world need a Justice League? Doesn't this dimension, this universe, have a force dedicated to protecting the sentient life within it? And don't say they're defending the planet, you and I both know that's far from the truth. So tell me, what is it that make Humans _so_ special? So much more important than the rest of life that resides on this pitiful rock?"

"..."

"I thought so," Kurama said. It let its eyes shut. "Speak to me only when you think you're able to get over your bias, Naruto Uzumaki. Then maybe, we can make a deal and prepare for what's coming."

The Avatar of The Red disappeared, the menacing red light dimming down and leaving The Green's Lantern alone in his mindscape.

Naruto couldn't help but feel frustrated at his lack of a response. Kurama was right. That he mistreated another living being for so long, feeling justified as he did so, disgusted him. He wanted to call Kurama back, to hash out more, to apologize, but it was too soon. The apology would mean nothing. As much as he hated it, this wound had to fester for a bit longer.

With nothing else to do, the blond closed his eyes and pulled himself from his mind.

* * *

When Naruto opened his eyes once more, he was back in the clearing of Yellowstone Park, surrounded by fauna and flora. The forest critters remained complacent while he sat there, but their presence and The Green's whispers did little to ease the tense that built into his shoulders. Yellow eyes of Sage Mode looked around at the creatures, their peace and certainty of their place in life made it a bit easier for him to breathe. He let a small smile grow, knowing that at least some creatures were simple enough to live without these challenges.

A bird that was nestled on his shoulder suddenly took to the skies with its fellow winged brethren. Deer, chipmunks, rabbits and squirrels also began to depart, fleeing the area in haste. Alarmed, Naruto got to his feet and looked up at the sky. Instead of starry skies that The Green told him should be clear as day, he saw dark clouds roll in from several directions, as if they were guided to a certain point, and his eyes narrowed.

"Okay, I'm no meteorologist, but I'm pretty sure that that's not normal," Naruto said. There was a faint snort from the back of his mind that caused him to stiffen in shock, but he shook it away. His lantern emblem shone with power and he balled his hands into fists. He took to the skies and raced after the clouds, diverting his attention when he saw multiple tornados sprout from nonexistence to form a circle.

 _Called it. Dastardly deeds are being done._ He thought. As he approached, he felt a probe at his mind. He grinned and opened the door, feeling the connection to his tenant dim slightly as he let the Martian in. " _You guys look like you're having fun, 'ttebayo._ "

" _Where the heck have you been?_ " Kid Flash's query was accompanied by an unknown girl's question of " _Whoa, who was that?!_ "

"Don't you have a broken arm?" Naruto asked in turn as he landed with his team, willing a wall of green spherical shield to surround them and defend them from rocks that were being kicked their way.

Kid Flash mentally sputtered before retorting audibly, "Shut up."

Naruto shrugged and glanced at the unknown girl that Robin was standing in front of. She was dressed like a stage magician, which was a bit weird, but at least it wasn't another spandex wearing warrior. Then he did a double-take at Koriand'r, who floated nearby the two. His gaze went to the red metal man that stood across from them, a red twister growing from his waist down, and then he looked at The Team's leader.

"What the hell do you guys get up to while I'm not around?" He asked.

"Language, Sage," Aqualad said firmly. He stared at the metal man. "That's Red Tornado. He was on our side, but then betrayed us a few weeks before you joined."

"Uh-huh. That explains so much-Thank you, M'gann!" Naruto corrected himself as a flood of memories filled his head. He reviewed the memories like he would a clone's, thinking out his next moves based off the quick strategy that The Team's power couple thought up. A certain portion of Megan's morning flashed across the forefront across his memory, which prompted him to look at the Martian in shock. "You guys were going to throw me a birthday party?"

"Oops," Miss Martian said with a wince while feelings of incredulity were sent across The Team's bond. She smiled sheepishly at the blond. "It was supposed to be a surprise."

"You guys didn't have to-"

"Hey! There's a robot that's hellbent on killing us! Debate over a party later!" Superboy snapped. He looked back at Red Tornado and narrowed his eyes. "Sage, drop the shield!"

"Superboy" Aqualad said firmly. The two held a meaningful glance that flew completely over Naruto's head. Aqualad sent a thought back at Naruto. " _Keep an eye on Starfire and Zatanna. You're our best defensive player right now._ "

" _Who?_ " Naruto asked in turn. A tap on his shoulder made him look down at the smiling Koriand'r.

" _My name in your English is 'Starfire',_ " Koriand'r explained. She looked over at the magician girl. " _That is Friend-Zatanna Zatara. She is the daughter of League of Justice member Giovanni Zatara and is a practicer of magic!_ "

" _That's great, Kori,_ " Naruto said, smiling at the young girl. He looked over at the magician, now finding the amusement in her choice of attire, and nodded at her. " _Welcome to the Team, Zatanna. Name's Sage._ "

"I'm still getting used to the whole mind-link thing, and I'm pretty sure that we're supposed to be fighting Red Tornado," Zatanna said. Naruto nodded and looked back at the robot, only to choke on spit when Zatanna's thoughts shot across the link: " _Holy crap, a cute Green Lantern. Be cool, Zatanna, be cool._ "

" _We can hear you,_ " Artemis fired at the girl in a moment of amusement. Naruto sent her a grateful look while Zatanna's embarrassment flooded through them all for just a brief moment.

"Sage, give us an opening through the shield!" Aqualad ordered as he and Superboy rushed towards Red Tornado. Naruto nodded and created a gap in his sphere, and Aqualad shouted at his other teammate, "Superboy, maneuver seven!"

Superboy gave Aqualad a boost through the opening, and Aqualad prepared a punch, but was countered and clocked across the jaw. The Team's leader rocketed back down to the ground, slammed into Superboy and knocking them both off of their feet.

"No!" Koriand'r made to fly after them, but Naruto caught her wrist and kept her grounded. He gave her a firm stare.

"Not yet!" He instructed, while Megan's words floated through their heads: " _Starfire, no!_ "

"But he-!" Koriand'r was cut off when two explosive arrows took out The Team's non-powered heroes. Naruto shrank the shield down to cover himself, Koriand'r and Zatanna, keeping them from being stuck with the residue smoke.

"Have a little faith, Kori," Naruto said softly while he watched Kid Flash become a twister to take on Red Tornado. He cringed when Miss Martian's attempted sneak attack was countered and the Martian was thrown into Kid, knocking them both down.

"What do we do?" Zatanna asked. Naruto surveyed the area, thought of the plan, and grimaced. This was going to hurt.

"Starfire, show off some speed, but stay out of his reach," he said as he let the shield fall. "Zatanna, hold back and get whatever the strongest spell you've got ready."

"What are you going to do?" the magician asked.

"I'll think of something," Naruto said. " _You guys need to get some distance away from me. NOW!_ "

Koriand'r nodded and flew off, circling around Red Tornado in opposite direction of his twisters. The machine, if he had the facial features for it, would've arched a brow. He waited until she passed onto his right side and extended his arm out, a twister growing from the limb and knocking the Tamaranean down to the earth.

Naruto grimaced and held his hand in front of him. Though in Sage Mode, his control was still absolute crap, but if he wanted to make this look good, he had to do it wrong. A swirling mass of chakra grew in the palm of his hand and wind gathered around it. Focusing as best he could, he flew up and raced at the robot, with his hand reared back.

"Alright, Mr. Twister," he said. "Take this on for size! Futon: Rasenga-argh!"

Naruto took the force of an F-2 tornado in his chest, and the technique in his hand exploded. Wounded, though he'd be fine in a minute, he did his part and fell. He let his connection with The Green falter and dropped out of his costume while his eyes closed. The ground was _much_ harder than it looked. He couldn't hear Zatanna over the force of Red Tornado's tornados, but soon enough the winds died away.

A new unknown speaker made himself known and the ground trembled. Naruto cracked an eye just a millimeter to get a look. What he saw made him groan. It stood taller, stronger, and looked more sinister than the 'friendly' appearance of the cape-clad Red Tornado. A triangle with a dot in the center was seen on its chest and in the center of its forehead, and cracks of gold lined the dark red form.

"Quite a performance, brother," said the newcomer. "But we both know that's all it was."

" _Shit._ " Naruto cursed through the link.

" _Language!_ " Megan admonished.

"I have all your memories, Tornado, plus a next-gen processor. I know your next move before you do." The ground rumbled and Naruto heard the cracking of the earth. The Team started to get back up, knowing that their ploy was lost, and Naruto joined them, reconnecting with The Green and being filled with Natural Energy. He stared in at the message that hovered behind the new machine: _Play Dead_.

"Scrawling a message into the sand? Disappointing," the robot said. It shattered the rock that hovered behind it and sent it at The Team. Most dodged the projectiles, but Aqualad and Superboy joined Naruto in breaking the larger stones apart.

" _Koriand'r?_ " Naruto asked, while Robin added, " _Zatanna?_ "

" _I am unharmed, Sage,_ " Starfire reassured the older hero.

" _Same here,_ " Zatanna sent through. Naruto followed the mental nudge to look up and watched the tornado-based hero fly off. " _But Red Tornado's getting away!_ "

" _Is he abandoning us?_ " Artemis asked incredulously.

" _I don't believe that,_ " Megan thought firmly.

" _Forget about him for now, he's not trying to kill us,_ " Naruto thought as he and Kid Flash rushed towards the new robot. " _This robot, however, is! We need a plan B!_ "

" _Relax, Swamp-Lad, I've got a plan B,_ " Kid Flash thought as he poured on the speed. " _We 'turb him!_ "

"...We what?" Naruto asked, confused. He watched Kid Flash run up the pillar that the robot stood on only to be backhanded away. The Green's Lantern averted course and used a constructed hand to catch the speedster before he hit the ground. Naruto gave him an amused look. "So, how'd the turbing go?"

"That was just step one," Kid Flash said with a pained grin. He rubbed his face and then nodded at Naruto when he was lowered back to the ground. "Thanks, Sage."

"No problem," Naruto said. He looked back at the machine with narrowed eyes. "Let's take this guy out."

"You stand no chance against me, _humans_ ," the robot said. An enormous amount of annoyance, a small amount of disappointment and a wave of anger flooded through the link. Starfire and Miss Martian tore through the air while Superboy launched himself from the ground in a mighty leap.

"We're not human!" The three declared.

"Apologies, I suppose the proper inclusive term would be," it said. They were caught in massive earth-based hands that rose up from the ground, and crushed around the three aliens. The machine crossed his arms and let out a scoff. "'Meatbags'."

" _Meatbags,_ " a familiar voice rumbled in the back of Naruto's head. The Green's Lantern stilled, his breath caught in his throat and he waited for someone to call him out on the voice. It didn't come, but Kurama continued, " _I like it._ "

" _Not now,_ " Naruto thought, sending a mental glare to the Avatar of The Red. He got a wave of confusion from the coherent members of The Team.

" _Don't tell me what to do, Meatbag. By the way, better pay attention,_ " Kurama said. Naruto looked up just in time to get hit with a massive boulder.

" _Sage_!" The concerned thought helped Naruto focus and punch his way through the offending rock. When it fell away, he saw Robin toss an explosive batarang. The Boy Wonder landed near Zatanna and watched the robot catch the projectile, which then exploded on contact. The smoke cleared and Naruto groaned.

"Aw, c'mon! What's it take to put this guy down?!"

"Tornado's memory files and my superior processing speed allow me to anticipate your every move," the robot declared.

"Ekoms emoceb a dlofdnilb!" Zatanna's voice echoed through the clearing and Naruto watched the smoke bend and wrap around the machine's eyes.

"Whoa," he said in awe. Is that what magic was capable of? It reminded him of some jutsu he'd seen when travelling the Hidden Nations.

"Enough!" The Robot's annoyed roar was accompanied by a nearby volcanic eruption. Naruto balked at the magma that shot up from the ground. He reached out and demanded answers from The Green. Apparently, Yellowstone housed a supervolcano beneath its feet.

" _He's activated a Stage two eruption,_ " Kid Flash suddenly broke into the mental link. " _If it gets to Stage Three, kiss the hemisphere goodbye._ "

" _Hit him from all sides!_ " Aqualad ordered. Koriand'r and Artemis pelted the robot with ranged attacks, while Aqualad, Superboy and Kid Flash rushed to force one on one combat, only to be hindered by the robot's geokinetic defense. Robin dropped a smoke bomb to give him and Zatanna cover. Miss Martian circled around while invisible, and used a telekinetic pull to knock the robot off guard.

The Robot countered with a wave of lava that would've engulfed the Martian if Kid Flash didn't zip in and scoop her out of harm's way. Almost. A bit of lava had splashed on Megan's arm, and rage washed through the link from Superboy.

Starfire let out a cry of pain and her flight suddenly became a fall. Naruto caught her in a construct and lowered her down to the ground, watching her curl up and shiver. He faintly heard Superboy make a new crater nearby, but focused on the girl.

"Kori, Koriand'r, what's wrong?" He asked. Waves of thought came from the Tamaranean, almost too much information flooding directly into his mind. Somewhere in his subconscious, he was grateful and impressed with Megan for keeping the link open.

It took a half-second to sort through it, considering it was a single memory and knowledge played in a loop. Tamaranean abilities were emotive, negative emotions weakened them and positive emotions strengthened them. Though negative emotions could be channeled into a positive drive, it was still dangerous to use. Especially for one as young and inexperienced as Koriand'r.

"Stay down," Naruto said. He understood what was wrong. Superboy's anger towards the robot, though caused by his concern and passion for Megan, overwhelmed Koriand'r. His own feelings on the matter probably didn't help, and the mental link was more of a hindrance to her than help.

"Megan!" he shouted. "Cut Starfire out of the link!"

"Are-?"

"Just do it!" Naruto barked, his emerald eyes locked on the lava-themed robot. He felt the severance and crossed his index and middle fingers. "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu."

Eighty-nine clones exploded into existence. Ten shot to the sky and used their rings to form a capped funnel around the rising smoke pillar at Kid Flash's direction. It would keep the ash from spreading more than it already had so long as the volcano didn't get to Stage Three.

Naruto and two others hung back, his hand preparing a particular technique. Faintly, he heard Aqualad call everyone back to gather behind him. He remembered the damage he did with the move.

Six of the remaining clones used their rings to shield The Team and Koriand'r. The rest of the clones swarmed the robot. A good half of them were taken out by its defense before getting in arm's reach, and another quarter diminished from the strength behind its blows.

When the last assault clone was extinguished, Naruto moved. A stream of Green light followed him as he closed the distance between himself and the robot. He used the technique to plow through any would be defense of the machine, cutting through walls of lava and rocks thrown his way.

Once he got close enough, he reared his arm back and threw.

"Futon: Rasenshuriken!"

The S-Ranked technique was a hair from touching the robot when a pillar of lava rocketed up from beneath it. The pillar of lava exploded out as the technique detonated, the exposed magma and dirt atomised before anyone else could be harmed. The robot stared, blank faced, and The Team's thoughts of dismay echoed through the link.

Naruto grinned.

"Meatbags, I will never understand my brother's fascination with you," the robot said. It sounded disgusted. "You stand there, smiling like a fool, after I destroy your final solution. I was not active during your encounter with the Injustice League, but my father's aid was smart enough to implant records of it into my brain. You could never hope to catch me with that attack."

"I figured as much," Naruto said. He curled into a sideways stance and brought a fist back to rest at his side. "Which is why I used it as a distraction."

"What?" The two clones that helped Naruto make the Rasenshuriken rushed in from behind, a larger than normal Rasengan held between their hands.

"Oodama Rasengan!" The clones declared as their attack assaulted the robot. It was launched forward and the clones dispelled. Naruto dug his foot into the ground and let out a warrior's yell as he swung his fist, putting all of his weight and the weight of The Green's power behind it. The Robot's right portion of its face caved in when it collided with his knuckles.

"Get turbed!" Naruto shouted just before the robot went flying again. Before it could collide with the volcano, a geyser of heated water broke through the ground and launched the machine into the air. Turning, he found another red robot man, lifted above the ground by a cape of running water. The Green whispered and he was surprised to find a small connection with the inorganic being, thanks to its connection with The Clear.

" _Red Torpedo?_ " Superboy's confusion put a name to the bot's face. A wave of elation filtered through the link from Miss Martian as the robot Naruto just turbed was knocked from the sky.

" _Red Tornado, I knew he didn't abandon us!_ " The Martian girl sounded relieved. A stream of fire blasted the robotic villain into the lava.

" _Red Inferno,_ " Artemis thought. A mild sense of fear washed over the link from The Team, both of the robot, the fire, and of loss. Naruto would save the questions, and instead focused on the fight between the mechanical siblings.

Red Torpedo and Red Inferno tackled the unnamed robot, but if he had to guess based off the theme it'd probably be something obvious like Red Volcano. As the volcanic robot started to rise back up, Red Tornado shot down and drilled both feet into its chest. The heroic robot stood knees deep into the lava, his three siblings submerged beneath it, likely melting in the heat. Before Red Tornado could sink any further, Superboy pulled him out.

A little tired from the fight, Naruto helped Superboy support Red Tornado while Kid Flash devised a manner to diffuse the Supervolcano before it could erupt and eradicate all life. When his clones dispelled, his mental exhaustion took toll and he slumped down. The world went dark a second after he closed his eyes to rest.

* * *

 **AN: Yeah, the original chapters will be shorter than the ones based off of the episodes it seems. Or the length may just vary. Who knows? I clearly don't.**

 **Y'all know what I want ya to do**

 **REVIEW!**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Okay, so here's sort of a blend between my previous works. And this time, I'm not going it alone.**

 **Co-Written by Engineer4Ever**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Young Justice**_ **! To my knowledge, there is no set Tamaranean dialect, so I've taken it upon myself to make my own.**

 **Rise of the Titans**

 **6: Anomaly, pt 1**

* * *

 **Mount Justice, October 10th, 2010**

Once the volcanic crisis was averted, The Team loaded back onto the Bioship and rushed back to the mountain. Naruto, though roused from his dreamless sleep, soon went back to it. He'd woken at a ridiculous hour, spent most of his day meditating and arguing with Kurama, and then spent a good chunk of his evening ensuring that Red Volcano - Red Tornado had been kind enough to confirm the name - got 'turbed'.

After they returned, Naruto hung back, allowing The Team to take their chewing like responsible teens they were and when asked about his absence from training, he shrugged and pulled the Birthday card.

It should be noted that Batman's word trumped a birthday card any day of the week. Jerk.

Which is why he was here now, leaning against the wall of the medical bay and casually eavesdropping - could it really be called such when they knew that he was in the room with them? - on his teammates speak with the bed-bound robot.

"I think we've gotten everything straightened out for now," Kaldur said. He put a hand on Red Tornado's arm. "We'll let you rest."

Naruto watched The Team and Zatanna filter out of the medbay, meeting only the concerned emissive eyes of Koriand'r when she lingered behind to send him a questioning look. He gave her a reassuring smile before he waved her off, silently telling her he'd be with them in a moment. She frowned, but nodded and floated after her friends, gathering Robin and Zatanna in a hug as she recounted their victory and rejoiced the return of their friend.

With a chuckle and a shake of his head, he stepped into the medical room and approached Red Tornado. He stopped at the edge of the bed, not sure of how to proceed.

"You are welcome to speak. I am still, as they say, awake," Red Tornado said, turning to face him. "You are The Green Lantern. Successor to Alan Scott."

"Never heard of him," Naruto said, his lips pursed. The Green had gone quiet.

"He was a friend. Like you, he was a Lantern outside of the Corps," Red Tornado said. "You're not here to ask about him."

"Maybe another time," Naruto said. He shifted on his feet and crossed his arms. He opened his mouth, hesitated, and then tried again. "Why do you do it?"

"Elaborate."

"Why do you...tolerate humans? Protect them? You're not a biological life form, you were created and designed to eradicate heroes," he said. "So why?"

"Your statement is accurate, but your initial query is not," Red Tornado said. "I do not tolerate humans. Humans are a fascination. A study. I was designed first to infiltrate them, then destroy. To accomplish this task, I had to understand them, however, I was unprepared to face the challenge."

"Of the heroes?"

"Of humanity." Red Tornado waited before he continued. "Humans are capable of irrational and rational thought, an impossibility for a machine. We must be programed, designed, our decisions made based off of mathematical equations that we process faster than most biological beings are able. Those are my thoughts. Formulas, statistics, and numbers that are fixed into a pattern. I cannot willfully ignore any thought or observation that crosses my processor. Humans, as most biological life, can choose which thoughts they hear. It is their strength and their weakness."

"...You chose to protect them," Naruto said.

"Artificial Intelligence, though inorganic, is still intelligence. I am designed to learn, to become more human, to effortlessly assimilate myself into organic life. That is my first directive," Red Tornado said. "To do so, I cannot allow organic life to be eradicated, otherwise my programming will have failed and I will cease function. This conclusion allowed me to override my secondary objective, and to join the other heroes against evils and threats that come from within and outside of humanity."

"So, you're helping protect humans, just so you can study them? Doesn't that sound a bit...cold?" Naruto asked.

"Perhaps, but I am inorganic. Emotions are one of the many things that puzzle me about humans. The Emotional Spectrum is a scientific improbability, the exact formulas to create the light constructs of the Lantern corps will forever elude me. A likelihood I can exist with, as it does not interfere with my objective," Red Tornado said. He sat up and looked into Naruto's eyes. "You are troubled, conflicted, with something concerning humanity."

"Yeah, you could say that," Naruto muttered. He manifested a chair and sat on it. He licked his lips and thought about his next words. "I ...I've come to realize that something, that a creature, from my world, was always mistreated by humans."

"Abused? Hunted?" Red Tornado asked.

"No, well, kind of. The creature was thought a demon, a being created of malicious energy," Naruto said. "That wasn't what it...he...she? I don't know, the creature wasn't a demon. A being made of energy, though. Energy that made it powerful."

"Humans fear that which they don't understand," Red Tornado said. "Power, no matter the source, if not in humanity's control, is feared. On some level the Justice League is feared by the very people we protect. For good reason. Who is to say that we may one day choose to decide what is right and wrong? That one of our own takes matters into his or her own hands? Batman, as a human without powers, considers this every day. He has as many contingencies for every hero that he does for his villains."

"Even himself?" Naruto asked, snorting. "I doubt that."

"His contingency for himself _is_ the Justice League. The day Batman goes rogue, if it comes, we will stop him," Red Tornado said, his voice low. "The chances of it occurring change with every day, sometimes greater or lower than the day before."

"Oh," Naruto said, his eyes turning down. He felt a swell of respect for the Dark Knight. The man was cold and distant, but he was smart, and clearly he cared in his own weird way. Robin was his ward along with his sidekick.

"The creature, I presume that Swamp Thing is aware of it?"

"Yes," he said. "The creature is the Avatar of The Red...you could say that we're close."

"There is a wedge between you and the creature." Red Tornado observed. "One caused by you, by your world's treatment."

"I abused it. I saw it as only a tool or as a monster, even after it became the Avatar of The Red," Naruto said. He felt his throat tighten and swallowed. Since becoming an agent of The Green, his connection to life through Sage Mode has increased dramatically. He could stomach being near Wolf, a creature that was abused and warped, but that was through his understanding of the animal.

Wait.

"You've thought of something."

"Yeah, I...I think I have," Naruto said. He smiled gratefully at the hero and put a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for helping me out, Red Tornado. I'll leave you to rest."

He shot out of the room in a Green stream of light, leaving the recovering hero alone.

"Though I do not require rest and I have not reached whatever conclusion you have, you are welcome, Naruto Uzumaki." Red Tornado laid back on the repair bay. He stared at the ceiling, calculating the upgrades required that would allow John Smith's faceplate to shift as the boy's did just now. "Organics are fascinating, you are able to express so much life in various ways. I will have to log this information into my data banks for when my other shell is complete."

* * *

Kurama was waiting within the mindscape when Naruto arrived. The red light illuminating the lithe form that laid behind the green cage.

"Come to beg my forgiveness?" The Fox asked. "You will have none."

"I don't expect it, and I know you won't accept my apology," Naruto said. He approached the cage and placed his hand on a bar. Red eyes followed his move and the air went tense. He took a deep breath and looked his tenant in the eye. "Kurama, Avatar of The Red Life-Force, will you do me any harm if I remove this construct?"

"...I greatly want to. So greatly do I wish to see your bones break beneath my might, to feel your blood drench my fur, and to see the life drain from your eyes," Kurama said. Red eyes stared at him hungrily, like a predator before the prey. The Fox didn't make a move to act on the words, and Naruto fought back his nerves when Kurama's voice rumbled out again, "But on my word as a Biju, a creation of the Rikudo Sennin, I will do you no harm if you abolish this cage, Avatar of The Green. Make no mistake, this is no symbol of trust, this is respect for your position and my own."

"Wouldn't hurt to hope, would it?" Naruto joked weakly. He got no response and sighed. Placing his hand on the cage, he took another breath and imagined the bars shattering. They did.

A tense silence passed.

Naruto looked up, his hand still outstretched, and met Kurama's gaze. The Fox narrowed its eyes.

"You don't trust me," Kurama said.

"Well, you can kill me with ease, you have enough reason to, you even admitted to wanting to just a few seconds ago! Forgive me for being a bit nervous after I get rid of the only thing that's protecting me, 'ttebayo!" He shot back.

"I gave you my word, you ungrateful meatbag!"

"That's _why_ I destroyed the bars!" Naruto protested. "I _want_ to trust you, Kurama! I want to work with you!"

"Liar! You want to use my power to enhance your own!" Kurama snarled. Red eyes glared down at him angrily.

"I-! I'm sure a small part of me does," he admitted. It was bittersweet, but his pride had taken enough blows in the past, particularly in the recent fight against Red Volcano where he didn't do much to help, so swallowing it wasn't too hard. He took a breath and let his hand drop to his side. "I want to trust you, Kurama. I want to, but trust has to work both ways for it to mean anything."

"...You are...not wrong," Kurama said, begrudgingly. The Fox growled and adjusted itself. "It will take more than a meager show of faith for me to trust you."

"Nothing is ever easy with you, is it?" Naruto asked. He rubbed his eyes and looked back at The Red's Fox. "Look, I don't like you, you don't like me. You hate me and my species, but we're the only ones from our world, Kurama. You're the only one that makes me certain that it was real, that I'm not just some crazy kid the Swamp Thing kidnapped."

"...You sound so sure of that," Kurama said. It was a tease, a jab, and though cruel, it only solidified the growing belief that Naruto had about the creature before him. It _was_ more than an evil spirit.

"Or maybe I'm wrong, 'ttebayo," he shrugged and played along. "Maybe I am crazy and I thought you up, or maybe you're The Red given sentient form."

"The latter isn't too far from the truth," Kurama said. The Fox sounded hesitant, before the red eyes became a shade lighter. "Very well, Naruto Uzumaki, I will try to trust you, but I must be shown more than just trust. I demand to be treated as a living being, as an equal Avatar, and with respect."

"Respect, like forgiveness, is earned," Naruto said. He gave Kurama a small smirk. "You'll earn your respect like I'll earn my forgiveness, or we'll die trying. Agreed?"

"Fine." Kurama huffed.

"Good, so, onto my next question," Naruto crossed his arms and squinted at the massive chakra creature. "Are you a boy or a girl?"

"...Are you serious?" Kurama asked, a flat stare landing on his container. "Our first truly cordial conversation as equals and you want to ask me what sex I am?"

"What? I'm not just gonna assume because you've got a deep voice that you're a guy," Naruto said, frowning. "That's wrong. And I don't want to call you an 'it' either, because that takes away from you. Not to mention sets me back at square one."

"At least you acknowledge that. If you must know, I have no sex, and I have no gender. I am genderless and asexual," Kurama said. A solitary red tail rose up and poked Naruto in the chest. "But if it bothers you so much, my worthless meatbag of a warden, you may refer to me with masculine terms. Most societies on this rock and back home are patriarchal. I desire to be seen as powerful and dominant, and masculine identities will do much for me in that regard."

"Why does that sound like a dismissal?" Naruto asked, frowning at the Fox. Sure it answered his question, but the finite tone that accompanied it made him a bit unsettled. Kurama's wide grin didn't exactly reassure him either.

"Your spatial awareness outside of your body whilst meditating needs work," _he_ said. He lowered his head onto his fore paws and pushed the blond Avatar back. "We'll continue this discussion another time, Naruto."

"Yeah, okay...Didn't exactly answer my question," Naruto said, frowning. He slipped his hands into his pockets and allowed his eyes to drift shut. Before he awoke, Kurama spoke to him again, though it was quiet, subdued, and not to mention a little awkward.

"For what it's worth," The Avatar of The Red muttered, "I wish you have a...happy birthday."

* * *

 _Happy Birthday?_ Naruto wondered as he woke up, seated on his bed within Mt. Justice. He thought over their conversation and then chuckled. The Kyuubi no Kitsune, the Demon Fox of Konohagakure no Sato, had just wished him a happy birthday. Blue eyes traveled down to the green ring that wrapped around his finger.

"This thing that's coming, it's really bad, isn't it?" he asked. The Green whispered its answer, and then assaulted his mind with images of of decaying corpses and eroding flora. He shook his head. "Yeah, I get it. No words can describe it. How about a name? Or a title?"

The Green refused to say anything, just repeating the images.

"That's so helpful," he said dryly. He flopped backwards to hang halfway off of his bed. "What about Alan Scott? Was he-was he your Lantern, too?"

Thankfully, this answer was more direct.

"'Sort of'? What do you mean 'sort of', 'ttebayo?" Naruto asked. He pursed his lips when there was no response. Before he could curse his Life Force out for being too secretive, there was a knock at his door. He glared at the ring that acted as his connection to The Green. "This isn't over."

The Green conceded with a hint of amusement. The knocks came again and he flipped off of his bed. He walked to the door, muttering under his breath, and scowled when the knocks came a third time.

"I heard you, I heard you, geez! Give me a second," he said, before grabbing the doorknob and pulling his door open.

Before Naruto could gather his wits, his hand was snagged and he was yanked from his room. A second and a hell of a lot of wind later, and he found himself seated at the head of the dining room table.

"Happy Birthday!" The Team, Zatanna and Koriand'r stood at either side of him. He looked around, awestruck, before he yelped and pulled away from a pinch to his right cheek.

"A pinch to grow an inch!" Wally said with a chuckle, his right hand making an exaggerated pinching gesture. He zipped off and reappeared on Robin's left, grinning at the gobsmacked blond. "Happy Birthday, Swamp-Lad."

"I hate that name," Naruto said. He glowered at Artemis, who stood on the bird-themed hero's other side, a bit behind Zatanna. Her lips pulled back into a grin.

"I know," she said. He glowered for another moment before crossing his arms and looking away with a petulant pout.

"You're so lucky you're pretty." Her lips pulled back a bit farther.

"Meh, seen better," Wally said with a wave of his hand, sending a wink to the Martian girl that stood across from him. Megan rolled her eyes, still smiling, and nudged the fidgeting Koriand'r. The Tamaranean smiled up at her and then flew off to the kitchen.

"Don't say anything," Megan said before Naruto could open his mouth. "She was just about ready to destroy your door. We've got one hour left of October Tenth, and the real party is going to be held tomorrow."

"Starfire insisted that we get the 'most important' tradition over with after this one," Zatanna said, elbowing Robin in the arm, "Told her what it was."

"Hey, a wish is a wish! You only get one every year," Robin said, rubbing his arm. Naruto arched a brow.

"You guys do that here, too? I had a few friends that celebrated with that tradition, but I normally opted for a bowl of ramen," he said. Superboy snorted.

"A bowl? I think you mean ten bowls."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"Naruto, you eat ramen like a fish drinks water," Kaldur said. He crossed his arms and gave a challenging stare to the birthday boy when Naruto opened his mouth to refute it. "Our stock of instant ramen, which consisted of fifty-six packs total has been abolished in the past week."

"Does that include the packs that Wallace tucked away behind his trophies?" Naruto asked. Wally slammed a hand on the table and pointed at Naruto accusingly.

"I knew it was you!"

"That was not an admission! I was merely asking about the poorly cared after ramen."

"I need to eat like five times the amount of what the normal teenager does, and ramen was a good, easy fix! Despite the sodium that stuff carries, at least it made for a good snack."

Naruto shot to his feet in outrage.

"You insult the dish that is Ramen with your blasphemy! It is no mere snack! It is a delicacy that must be treasured and praised be to the almighty Inari who shared it with us!"

"Okay, simmer down, boys," Megan said, using her telekinesis to force the two hotheads into their seats. She and the rest of The Team, all amused by their gluttonous friends' argument over food, sat down just as Koriand'r flew back in with a large cake above her head. She set the cake down and those at the table with super hearing heard the wood and metal groan. The cake was lathered in orange icing, with unlit candles lined around the ironic flowery, green script that read: 'Happy 18th Birthday!'

Naruto's throat tightened and he forced himself to ignore the sting in his eyes. Three years since he last really managed to celebrate, the last two being spent arguing most of the day with a beast sealed in his stomach and the rest of the day meditating with his teacher. He hadn't been part of the group for that long, hadn't been more than an acquaintance or comrade, and they still wanted to celebrate his life. Struggling with his words and emotions, he was grateful when Koriand'r suddenly engulfed him in a tight hug.

It made a good excuse for the tears.

"Kori, too tight," he said. Her hug loosened and he let out a chuckle as she moved to sit between him and Megan.

"I hope that you had a most happy Day of Birth, Naruto!" She declared, a bright smile on her face.

Then, before anyone could stop her, a glow engulfed her fist and she fired a bolt of energy over the cake. The candles lit and the energy bolt dissipated before it struck Artemis, who sat across from her and in the attack's path. The Tamaranean, unaware of the heart attack she'd given everyone else present, continued to smile.

"Starfire," Artemis said, her voice tight and her nails digging into the table. "Remind me that we really need to talk about when it is appropriate to use your superpowers."

"Tomorrow," Koriand'r said with a nod. She turned back to Naruto, eagerness plastered on her face. "Now I believe you blow out the candles and make a wish, yes?"

"Y-yeah," Naruto said, trying so hard not to smile or laugh. As he centered himself and took a deep breath, he thought of a way to alleviate the tension. Focusing his chakra as he exhaled, he extinguished the lit candles and then launched the massive cake across the table so that it slammed into the wall. Then, when their eyes landed on him, he sheepishly scratched the back of his head and grinned.

"Er, whoops?"

Wally, Artemis, Zatanna and Robin laughed while Superboy and Megan had matching looks of awe on their faces, and Kaldur simply shook his head, his lips pulled back into a small smile. Koriand'r, still new to Earth, was lost over how abnormal the exhale was. She clapped her hands and began to pester Naruto about his wish.

Her questions went unanswered because Naruto laughed the rest of the night away while Wolf began to clean up the cake.

* * *

 **Mt. Justice, October 16, 2010**

Green eyes stared up into the black void and their owner wondered how this happened.

* * *

It started like any other day would, serene, peaceful, the woes of the world willfully put on hold for a moment.

That changed when The Green Lanterns, Hal and John, were eradicated by an unidentified alien fleet.

The Justice League's big guns fell shortly after. Superman, Batman, a silver guy named Captain Atom, J'onn J'onzz the Martian Manhunter, and Captain Marvel were destroyed just as swiftly as the Lanterns. Heroes across the world fell: The Flash, Zatara, Aquaman and Green Arrow were lost while rescuing civilians on Live Broadcast. Black Canary and Red Tornado died in the midst of contacting them.

The Team watched the deaths mount from their sanctuary, watching their mentors and friends fall to this threat. Wally paced angrily behind them, itching to move, and Artemis leaned against the wall, adjusting her bow and checking her arrows. Superboy and Wolf sat with Megan while she mourned her uncle's demise. Zatanna and Robin shared a similar moment in the kitchen. Kaldur remained stoic, unmoved and determined, as he watched Hell unleash over Earth.

Naruto stumbled when he felt The Green scream and a pit appeared within him. Koriand'r kept him from falling, but was unable to save the comfort ramen he dropped. That loss was miniscule compared to the sheer agony that tore at him. He heard Kurama howl and rage in the depths of his mind, all while he struggled to accept what he so desperately wanted to deny.

"-Age? Sage what happened?" Koriand'r's concern finally broke through to him and he let out a gasped sob. She wrapped his midsection in a gentle hug and he held on, while tears streamed down his face.

"He's gone...He's actually, really _gone_..." Naruto murmured, trying to convince himself it wasn't true, but failing.

The Swamp Thing was dead.

The planning and actions that followed were fogged and distant. They had piled into the Bioship, heading north to a fortress that was some kind of importance. He didn't remember why he agreed to stay on the camouflaged Bioship, and guessed it was because of his inability to alter his costume: Green was pretty easy to spot, even in a snowstorm.

The Team did fine despite his absence. For the most part. Wolf gave his life for Superboy, and Kurama didn't like that at all, but that went without saying since the fox was the Avatar of The Red. The fortress was defended, and Miss Martian uncloaked the Bioship to analyse and attach the alien hardware to it. A fight fire with fire sort of thing.

Naruto opted to secure the area, keeping an eye out for any other threats, when he saw a hidden cannon take aim at Artemis. He didn't move fast enough, but Koriand'r did. The Tamaranean shoved the archer out of the way, taking the shot for herself.

"Starfire!" Robin cried her name while the rest of The Team took down more cannons as they came up. Naruto destroyed them with all he could muster, trying to stay focused and not let his anger consume him. To not succumb to his rage at losing Kori, who had somehow become the closest thing to a little sister he had, it was a losing battle.

Artemis destroyed the last cannon, and they relaxed.

A fatal mistake.

The _real_ last cannon emerged and targeted Artemis.

Naruto wasn't about to let Koriand'r's sacrifice go in vain and he wasn't about to lose another friend. Before he even considered the consequences of his actions, of how detrimentally unprotected the world would be _without_ an Avatar of The Green, his hands clapped together. His index and middle fingers were upright, and chakra flared.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu!"

* * *

Then, he was here. In this ...wet void. It would be dark if not for the green and red light that illuminated the area.

"You are, without a single doubt in my mind, the most idiotic human I have ever met," a deep voice rumbled. He let his head tilt back and green eyes stared at red. Kurama continued to stare down at him, before he sighed. "You are also the most selfless. More than your asshole of a father. He gave his life to protect a pitiful human settlement that was built on war. You gave yours to honor and protect a friend, a hero, who should go on to save more lives. Pity it was pointless."

"They still have a shot, don't count them-"

"That isn't what I mean," Kurama said, cutting Naruto off. He narrowed his red eyes, staring down at his container. "You don't remember?"

"Remember what?" Naruto asked. He turned onto his stomach to get back to his feet, gasping at the jolt of pain that went up his body, and then relaxed when The Green embraced him. It connected to him, praised his acts as it made the pain melt away, and scolded his thoughtlessness. A clone would have sufficed, it would've saved the girl and The Green would have still been protected. The chiding dug at Naruto before he felt it.

The hole was filled: Swamp Thing still lived. Relief and joy swelled in him, and he used their link to The Green to send these feelings, and was briefly confused by the worry that accompanied the returned feelings.

"That arrogant Bat-Man conjured this farce." Kurama's voice pulled Naruto out of the moment. The fox leveled Naruto with a dark glower. "It was supposed to be a test, to see how well you and the other Meatbags would handle a world-ending catastrophe on your own. That fool tampered with energies he knows nothing about: _our_ minds."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, relishing the feeling of his mentor's, albeit faint, presence. Strange, it almost felt like it was getting clearer.

"You're a boy raised in a war-state, Naruto. You've seen more life-threatening conflict than most children on this rock, even these meatbags you've become so enamored with. They may know loss, they may know danger, but they do not know what it is to have death stare you in the face," Kurama said. One of his tails reached over and poked Naruto in the stomach. "If not for my power, you'd be dead thrice over."

"Okay, thanks for saving my life, but get to the point!" He frowned, remembering how close some of those calls were. One of those times would even have been at the hand of his own teacher. He shuddered; falling to his death was his least preferred option.

"You're more than familiar with a no-win scenario, but you've never encountered a safe, controlled environment," Kurama said. He paused and then added, "Spars with the Uchiha Meatbag notwithstanding."

"...And that means...what?" Naruto asked. The fox groaned.

"Boy, your idiocy would astound me if I didn't know your parents as well as I do," he said. Naruto made sure to file that away for another time, right now this seemed pretty serious. Taking a deep breath, Kurama then growled, "The moment you were confronted with the death of Swamp Thing, you thought it was real. You severed the connection The Green gave you with him! Then that wolf died and your subconscious informed my subconscious and I severed my connection with him! Do you not understand the severity of this?"

"Not...really?"

"Oh, my g-For all intents and purposes, we were slowly killing ourselves because of a stupid Meatbags' insignificant test!" Kurama roared.

Oh. Oh!

"Fuck."

"A bit of an understatement, if you ask me," Kurama said. He huffed and let his eyes shut. "We were supposed to awaken upon a 'death', but now your mind is trapped within your body. If I weren't here, you'd likely be in a coma."

"So, then, what do I do? What can I do?" Naruto asked.

"As you are? Nothing," Kurama said. He opened his eyes and leveled the boy with another hard look. "But...I may have a solution."

"What is it?" He scowled when Kurama grumbled to himself. "What?"

"You will not like it."

"Kurama."

"In theory," the fox began, "You should be in a coma. However, my presence, as it has not been yet detected by those outside of The Life-Forces, is...an anomaly. Theoretically speaking, I could influence the illusion and end it."

"Okay, let's do it!"

"It isn't that simple. My power would have to be inserted into the body of the illusionist," Kurama said. A chill went up Naruto's spine. He had a bad feeling about this.

"How do we do that?"

Red eyes stared into green, and the unease grew. Finally, the Fox spoke.

"We kill them."

"What?! That's your plan!? I'm not letting you kill my friends-!"

"I can't. You, on the other hand, are my _jinchuuriki_."

...No. He couldn't mean... Understanding dawned on Naruto, a fact that was caught by Kurama, who closed his eyes once again.

"I told you that you wouldn't like it."

"I...I'd have to kill Megan…?"

"And possibly the other Meatbags, to ensure that they escape the illusion as well. Not to mention they'll try and fight back," Kurama said. He snorted, bitterly amused. "Survival instincts are a bitch."

"You think this is funny!?" Naruto asked, incredulous. "I thought you were a Life Force Avatar!"

"The Red concerns itself with animals, and while most biologically sentient beings are such, they are usually too out of touch with their instincts for them to fall under The Red's grasp," Kurama said. He opened his eyes again. "A bit of my power inserted into them, however, with the shock of death, should jumpstart their instincts outside of the illusion. They would break free from their comatose state and-"

"Wait, are you saying that Kori's in a coma?"

"The young alien meatbag and that wolf are the only two I currently know of. I've reconnected to the wolf, but only just barely. The alien was settled nearest to you physically, and she is an emotional creature so I should be able to influence her to a similar state, however, that will not happen until this illusion is dispelled."

"So to sum it up: to save them, I have to...to kill them?"

"Yes."

Naruto looked down at his hands. He could either sit around and hope that one day he wakes up, or he could get off of his ass and do something. However, what would they think of him after they see him under Kurama's influence? How would they react after the test was over? If anything, they'd fear him, rightfully so. They'd have memories of dying by his hand, even if it weren't true.

Almost three weeks of events flashed through Naruto's mind. Outside of the few missions they partook on, he remembered spending time with The Team: learning more about the world with Robin and Wally; being teased by Artemis whenever she flustered him; sparring with Kaldur and Superboy; being the living garbage disposal for Megan's mishaps in the kitchen; exchanging knowledge of spells with Zatanna and her father; and helping Koriand'r adjust to her new home, correcting her words or helping her practice restraint.

That last memory of her being destroyed by the cannon played in his mind. She was alone. Tamaraneans did not do well alone, they thrived off of companionship and the positive energies of others.

Gaara flashed through his mind. His own childhood followed.

Thoughts of his friends comatose, stuck forever because of a test, were what sealed his decision.

Naruto looked up, resolute and determined. He would do this, for them.

They'd hate him, they'd fear him, and they very well may never speak with him again, but he would rather all that than have them be stuck in their minds: alone.

"What do we have to do?"

* * *

 **Bayou Bartholomew, October 16th, 2010**

It started as it always did, with The Green.

Swamp Thing had felt pain before. He remembered the day that Alec Holland broke his collarbone while on a ski trip. That was a tickle compared to the sudden absence of his wayward student. He felt the pain of loss, as Alec Holland had when his sister died. The absence meant one thing:

Naruto Uzumaki, The Sage, had perished.

The Swamp Thing considered this. The boy was aggravating, stubborn, impatient and reckless, true, but he was also a bridge between humanity and nature the likes of which hadn't been seen in centuries.

The Green mourned him, so The Swamp Thing did, too.

Then Naruto Uzumaki lived again. The Swamp Thing felt relief and joy flood through their link, but with that came fear, uncertainty, grief and sorrow. The Green felt all of this, as well, and explained it to The Swamp Thing, who tried to comprehend, but couldn't. The Green's bridge to humanity returned, but the bridge was in danger.

The Swamp Thing wanted to know from who. A name was sent. One name The Swamp Thing knew well: Batman.

The Caped Crusader was well meaning, but he was paranoid and arrogant. It was expected, he was human, but to risk the Bridge? To endanger The Green by acting so callously, it was like Batman was begging to be spoken with. The Green may have forgiven the man for his part, it is kind and generous, always soft to the humans.

The Swamp Thing was not.

He melded into the ground and journeyed to The Sage. Miles were crossed in seconds. The Earth trembled as he entered the Gay Harbor. The Green's Mother tried to dissuade him, but he refused to listen. The Green was knowingly endangered by one thought of as an ally, and The Swamp Thing would ensure it never happened again.

* * *

 **AN: Holy rusted metal, Batman! This chapter was going to be released Friday, but I'll explain why I released it early.**

 **To those who live under a rock: Batman died. Like, for reals. My Batman, the first Batman I ever knew, has passed away after a brief battle with leukemia.**

 **I didn't find out until yesterday,** _ **after**_ **I updated the last. So this chapter is dedicated to Adam West, the man, who in my eyes, was the Original Silver Screen Caped Crusader.**

 **RIP Adam West.**

 **May you never need a canister of Shark Repellant Bat Spray with you again.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Okay, so here's sort of a blend between my previous works. And this time, I'm not going it alone.**

 **Co-Written by Engineer4Ever**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Young Justice**_ **!**

 **Rise of the Titans**

 **7: Anomaly, pt 2**

* * *

 **Mount Justice, October 16th, 2010**

"Batman," The Swamp Thing said upon emerging from the wall of the hollowed out mountain. The Swamp Thing towered over the Heroes that were gathered. Red Tornado, the machine, met him with a nod. Any other time it would be returned, but The Swamp Thing is not one for cordial greetings when moments are tense.

"Swamp Thing." Batman stood at the front of the other heroes. His eyes narrowed behind his cowl. "You are...unexpected."

"You dared to threaten The Green."

The red speedster, the Masked Flash, let loose a curse that Alec Holland would've paled over.

The Swamp Thing paid him no mind.

"I did?"

"The Sage," The Swamp Thing said. "He is meant to be the link between Humanity and The Green."

"That's a lot of pressure to put on a child," Batman said. Swamp Thing leaned down, his towering frame bending to meet the human's gaze.

"Do you _want_ to play with me, Batman? Because I do not play as nice as you do. I do not do gentle. This is your _last_ warning."

Batman was silent. He turned and held his hand out, gesturing to the forms gathered around The Martian.

"He's in a coma. He's alive."

"Whether he is or isn't is not why I'm here," The Swamp Thing said, rising back to its full height. "Your decision threatened The Green, Batman. The Sage will no longer play your games."

"That is not your choice to make," Batman said. His hands shifted beneath his cloak.

"I didn't." The Swamp Thing narrowed his eyes. His roots sank into the ground, ready to keep him steady for a fight. "The Green did."

They held their gaze before someone, The Martian Man, let out and alarmed yell.

"Something is happening to Sage!"

The Swamp Thing looked up and watched a red shroud bubble up from Naruto Uzumaki's stomach. It encompassed his form before it was drained into The Green's Ring. The Green assured him that what was happening was going to strengthen The Sage and prepare him for the coming of The Black. The heroes would not know that, they would want answers, and they would perverse his body to get them.

The Swamp Thing acted before they could realize what was happening. He called upon The Green to lend him aid, and it did. The ground itself opened up and flora began to entrap the various heroes.

"Swamp Thing, this action is ill advised," Red Tornado said.

"This action, Tornado, is to protect The Green and its bridge." The Swamp Thing retorted. "The Red is helping."

"The Red?" a few heroes repeated. Batman narrowed his eyes.

"We will watch and wait." The Swamp Thing had no patience for any arguments. His eyes remained on The Sage's form, watching as his costume shifted. For a brief moment, he looked away to look at the heroes. "One wrong move and I will end you all."

* * *

"So...This is how you see the world?"

"Yes."

"It's...It's different."

"It is."

"And I'm still connected to The Green?"

"Yes. They won't know that."

"Fine by me."

"You sure you want to do this? I could easily-"

" _I_ have to do this. I...I just have to."

"If you say so. Good luck. ...And Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't hesitate. Be quick and move on. I fear that we don't have much time."

* * *

 **Hall of Justice, October 16th, 2010**

"Do you-Do you want to talk about it?" Kid Flash's voice was soft. He sounded concerned, a stark contrast to their usual poke and prod banter. He was hesitant, too. Weird, she didn't know he could hesitate. Speed was his thing.

"Talk about what?"

"Starfire?" he asked, and she stilled. "Sage?"

Her chest felt tight. The Tamaranean threw her from the line of fire, the younger girl disappeared right before her eyes. Sage took her place, literally, before she even knew she was in trouble. They died for her, to save her. She didn't have powers, all she had was a bow and arrow, she would've been fine with it if she died. She would die for the mission. They could've saved so many more people than she could.

"Do you want to talk about The Flash?" It was low, but talking over loss was a foreign concept. Kid Flash stiffened and looked away.

"That's different," he said. He was angry. Good. She could do angry. The other thing, not so much, but angry Kid Flash? She could handle him easy.

"They're all dead. How's it different?"

"Flash didn't die trying to save my life."

Fuck you. She wanted to say. She wanted to tell him that he didn't see Flash's worried eyes close up before it blinked away. She wanted to tell him that he didn't feel a sudden warmth before it was dashed by the arctic cold. She wanted to tell him that he wasn't the most useless member of the team, that he could do more than she ever could even if he wanted to be a sarcastic, easygoing flirt that also cared.

She wanted to scream the unfairness of it all.

She wanted to shoot every last one of _them_ until _they_ were all dead or she died trying.

She wanted to get the job done and then deal with it later, because it was always easier later.

But she couldn't. Her throat felt like there was a vice wrapped around it. She could barely manage to keep a tight grip on her bow. Dust must've flown into her eyes, because she was blinking a lot.

Arms wrapped around her and she felt warm again.

"I cried for them, too, Artemis."

He wasn't supposed to sound safe or comforting. He was the 'Wall-Man'. The goofy, nonbelieving scientist. The arrogant, too fast for his own mind, smooth-talker.

Stupid dust was getting in her eyes and for a second she forgot to breathe so she had to let out a gasp that might've been mistaken for a sob.

It was her fault.

"No, it's not!" He pushed her back and cupped her face, forcing her to meet his gaze. His eyes were lined with pink, like he'd gotten dust in them, too. "Artemis, listen to me. Sage and Starfire _chose_ to save your life at the sake of their own. They chose that, not you, and not me. They did that for _you_ , because they cared about _you_. Don't let their sacrifice weigh on your conscience, because it'll slow you down."

Typical, speed idiom.

"Well, I am...I am the Fastest Man Alive now." His smile was weak, the hurt and ache behind it still fresh, but it made her feel warm again.

Then his smile was gone, because he was gone. Something pulled Kid Flash away from her. There was an arm plunged through his lightning bolt, clawed fingers burst through his chest and caused warm droplets to splash on her face.

"WALLY!" Someone screamed his name. Her throat hurt, maybe she did it.

The arm was pulled out and Kid Flash teetered before he fell. She could only stare at the man standing, disbelief locking her in place.

His build was lean, but powerful. He stood slouched, staring at the red on his arm, the red that was darker than the short-sleeved cloak he wore over his fishnet-covered torso, a stark contrast to his usual green vest and black shirt. The red dripped down his arm, past his black pants, landing on his sandal-clad feet that exposed his clawed toes. A dark red band kept his blond hair from his face, a red lantern glowing in its center, illuminating the three thick and feral whisker marks that covered both cheeks.

She reached for an arrow, and realized that she'd dropped her bow when Wally hugged her. Her movement made him look away from his arm and focus on her. His face was the same, save for the thicker whiskers, and his eyes.

Those _eyes_.

Red with cat-like pupils. Eyes of a predator, a hunter, an animal stared at her. She saw instinct, and, unless she was mistaken, remorse.

His clean hand wrapped around her throat and she was lifted above the ground. He was strong. Very strong. She couldn't breathe again. She squinted and stared at him, struggling to break free. He ignored her kicks, even the stray one that went to the man's groin, and her hands latched onto his arm. She wanted to beg, to ask him why, but couldn't. He'd plunged his claws through her torso, somewhere below her chest and above her stomach.

It _hurt_.

It hurt so much!

Then he hugged her, clung to her like she clung to Wally, as she bled out on his arm.

"I'm sorry," he whispered into her ear. He was shaking, or was she shaking? Things were getting fuzzy. Her face felt wet, was it raining or were those her tears from the dust? "I'm so sorry."

"Na...?" She didn't get to finish, because then it was dark, and the pain went away.

Artemis Crock was found a few minutes later dead beside Wally West.

* * *

After they found Artemis and Wally, he had demanded answers. His best friend was dead and his close ally along with him. He almost split from them then, determined to find the culprit and bring them to justice in a way only a Bat could, but Kaldur convinced him to stay, if only just. The monster that did this would pay, but first they had to save the world.

A soldier, Private MacGuffin, had just covered the bodies with a tarp when they heard another scream and gunfire. They arrived to find an impossibility: Sage was alive, but he was...different. He was red, and not just with blood. His costume had altered, changed, to seem more feral. Gone was the black mask that covered his unique birthmarks, and his eyes were animalistic.

"Sage?" Megan took a step forward, hesitant. Superboy grabbed her arm, keeping her back. Their noise made Sage's head snap towards them. He spread his legs and held his arms at his sides, a growl emanated from his location.

Sage was trying to use fear tactics on the Boy Wonder? The thought was laughable. Batman _perfected_ fear tactics; they were not going to be much use on his student.

" _Megan,_ " Kaldur's voice echoed through the link. " _Establish a connection, then maybe we can help him. Superboy, if he tries anything, we'll jump him. He's not stronger than the both of us if we work together. Robin, you be ready to give us some support._ "

He wanted to protest: He'd faced down guys ten times Sage's height! He took on Killer Croc anytime he wanted, and that guy was a mutated cannibal!

" _Sage,_ " Megan reached out, linking the red-clad, blood-covered teen with their minds.

Bad call.

" _ **GET OUT OF OUR HEADS!**_ " Sage's scratchy snarl was echoed by a deeper, rumbling roar. Megan recoiled as if she were struck, visibly stumbling back and falling to the ground.

He slipped two explosive batarangs in his hands when Superboy leapt at the Red Sage, a furious shout escaping him as he did. This wasn't their Sage, so he wasn't going to go easy on him. It must be a faulty clone or something. What was Sage capable of again? Able to make numerous duplicates, replace himself with another, create constructs of green light, fly, and enhance his strength to ...unknown...limits...

 _Oh, God please no._

Red Sage caught the Boy of Steel's fist in his palm, and with an effortless twist of his hand, the Kryptonian clone's arm snapped.

"Robin!" Kaldur shouted, actually shouted, at him and ran forward with his water bearers at the ready.

He tossed the batarangs and then took a shot with his grappling hook, latching it around Superboy's waist. He tugged and pulled the clone away as the explosive batarangs went off, covering Red Sage's form. Superboy landed at his feet and he checked the clone's arm.

He didn't see Kaldur cut through smoke with water blades.

He didn't notice the figure looming over him.

He _did_ feel the pain of a severe, if not fatal, puncture wound when Red Sage's arm burst down through his chest.

 _How to escape? Batarang? Too close, could chance infection. Hand to hand? Have an arm through chest, victory unlikely. Parkour? Off what?_

"I'm sorry, Robin."

That sounded...sincere? Why? Is he being forced to do this? Is the enemy teleporting them, not destroying them as they thought? Brainwashing? Then why was Sage sorry? Does he have information? Does Sage have an immunity they don't know about to mental powers? Warn the others. Have to warn-

Dick Grayson's world went black before his corpse dropped to the ground.

* * *

The Water-Bearers' hammer mode were harder than Naruto thought. The adrenaline rush from The Red kept him from feeling most pain, but those hammers hurt. He actually had to check to make sure he hadn't lost a tooth when Kaldur knocked him away from Robin's body.

" _Time's running out. Hurry up and finish this, or I will_ ," Kurama said. Not out of malicious intent, but because he knew that Naruto couldn't hold off the instinctual urges of The Red for much longer. The Red's whispers were nothing like The Green's. Food, prey, shelter, territory, reproduce, repeat. All instinct, no thought.

 _I've...I've got this_.

Naruto stared down the hardened eyes of his Atlantean friend. Kaldur's body was tense, and he could practically taste The Team leader's apprehension. Whether he'd actually seen anyone die in front of him before or not, Naruto wasn't sure, but he had now, and it was affecting him.

"Sage! I know you can hear me!" Kaldur's even tone was forced, he was struggling to keep himself in check. Naruto understood. He had to fight back sudden urges to play, to partake in the game of chase, of a hunt.

He had to make sure there was a method to his madness, or he would succumb to it.

"Why are you doing this?"

"...I'm sorry..."

Kid Flash was first, he had to be. He was too fast, even for the top speed of The Red's fastest life form. Wally was taken down by ninja tactics, given a swift and instant death that was still probably too long. For that, Naruto would always be sorry.

 _Dodge left, sweep feet. Slide to avoid water-bearer sword, kip up kick._

Artemis had to go next. She was emotionally one of the few that had really connected with him, part of him may have liked her, part of her may have liked him, but they'll never know how deep those feelings went. Those parts of them were dead. At least he knew she would bounce back - he never thought that she and Wally would click as they did, but then again, he wasn't an expert on love.

 _Superboy is back on his feet. Oh, he's mad. I would be too if my arm was snapped like a twig._

Robin was always after them. Clever Robin would see through it if given too much time to analyse a situation. He would be most likely to try and talk Naruto out of it. That, and he was young. He reminded Naruto of another boy with a chip on his shoulder, but one who didn't smile as much. Robin was the boy Sasuke would've been if not for the Massacre. Naruto felt that he owed it to his lost rival to save his mirror.

 _Substitute with Kaldur when Superboy is close enough to hit me, then catch the Atlantean after he's punched. Finish him off before he can recover._

Kaldur and Superboy would be after, they were interchangeable, as cold as it sounded. Both had special places in the ultimate target's heart, one was a dear friend and the other was a soulmate. They were also the strongest of the two, the ones with the least tricks.

 _I don't like this, Superboy. This isn't a spar. Please, understand. Please don't hate me. Stop struggling, it'll be quick. I want to make it quick. Dammit, stop fighting me!_

 _...Huh, his neck snapped so easily. I wonder if I can do that in real-NO! I_ _ **don't**_ _enjoy this!_

Finally, he would end the whole facade. Megan, the lovely and sweet Martian he never knew he wanted as a friend, had to be last. Her suffering would put pressure on her subconscious, strained as it was, and it would pierce through to the instincts that The Red could reach. He did not want it to be that way, but it had to. Megan would die last.

 _Megan's probing again. Trying to shut me down. Very determined this time. Kurama, time to introduce yourself._

" _Sage? What's-_ "

" _ **Hello, Meatbag.**_ "

Megan dropped to her knees trembling and crying. She watched Naruto with horrified eyes as he let Superboy drop to the ground. She began to scoot away and turned invisible.

He could still smell her fear.

He could smell her fragrance on Superboy.

He could smell Superboy's sweat on her.

He could smell the corpses'.

He could smell Wolf and Starfire.

He could smell his bed.

He could smell their blood on his hands.

" _Easy, boy,_ " Kurama said. " _We're almost done, just one more and we'll stop. One more and we're free. Just this last meatbag and you can be done._ "

"Megan." He put a hand on her shoulder and pressed his forehead against hers. Their eyes met as her invisibility faltered. His head started to throb, she was fighting back. This was her kicking and screaming. He closed his eyes, straightened his hand out, and whispered his last apology.

"I'm so sorry."

Naruto's hand then pierced through her chest and the world ended.

* * *

 **Mount Justice, October 16th, 2010**

"Let me go, fiend! M'gann!" The Martian Manhunter was difficult to keep restrained, but Swamp Thing had faced intangible forces before. A constant shifting array of plants of various densities kept him in place.

"Wally! Wally!" The Masked Flash had blood relation to the teenager that wore his symbol. The Speed Force chose well when it struck Barry Allen, his heart was large and his mind even larger. His speed, however, did little to help him. Pheromones and chemicals emitted from his binds kept him sedated.

"Swamp Thing, hear reason!" Red Tornado didn't struggle, but wanted to help his allies. He was the least restrained.

"Please, let us help them!" The Black Canary was the easiest to subdue, and the most vocal. The root that had been wound around her mouth was destroyed.

Batman stared at The Sage, his eyes narrowed.

The Swamp Thing ignored the heroes entirely. He walked from one teenager to the next, holding a hand over their heads. They would live. He stopped and stood at the head of The Green's Lantern. The Sage was physically unharmed, but physical pain was but one of multiple that humans are most fragile to.

"Naruto Uzumaki," he said once The Red dwindled away and the Green embraced its bridge. It covered the boy in its armor, comforting his mental and emotional distraught. The mask didn't return, and his eyes remained green. They were unfocused and blurred, but quickly cleared.

"Sensei?" his voice was weak and hoarse, as it was the day he was given to The Green. The Swamp Thing stared down at him and The Green relayed what happened.

Alec Holland would have hugged the boy, he would have grieved for the horrors he chose to do to save his friends. He would've cursed out Batman, and the other Leaguers, for agreeing to this incredibly stupid plot. There were too many variables, too many uncertainties to consider with the different physiologies and powers that were present.

The Swamp Thing just stared.

"The Green rejoices at your return," he said. Naruto Uzumaki stared up at him before nodding and getting to his feet. The Swamp Thing looked at Batman, who continued to stare, and then gathered the heroes together. He pulled them over to be near their precious teenagers, who began to stir.

Naruto Uzumaki was on his feet before the first woke, the first being the youngest alien, the Tamaranean. He had made a clone and then went off into the cavern, while the clone remained behind, using his ring to keep the teens and the heroes in place. Then the questions began.

"Why does my head hurt?"

"Uncle J'onn? Superboy?"

"Wolf? M'gann?"

"Where are we? Where are the aliens?"

"Most joyful reunions, friends!"

"We're alive?"

"What is _that_?"

The Swamp Thing was amused by the Kid Flash's question, since he pointed at him when he shrieked, but did not let it show. Alec Holland would've been offended by the boy's rudeness, but Swamp Thing was indifferent. He'd gotten worse from The Sage.

"Wow, it is as tall as a gnorfbar!" The Tamaranean had such strange words. The shortest male's gaze fell on The Swamp Thing.

"Oh, no," he said. The Atlantean looked at him.

"What is it, Robin?"

"Guys...turn around."

They did. They saw their mentors bound by roots and a Green sphere around their persons. They saw the clone of Naruto Uzumaki on the other side, keeping them within.

The bastard creation of Human and Kryptonian genetics tensed, as did the rest of the teenagers. They however, remained frozen in shock, while the abomination let out a roar and leapt at the Sage, prepared to fight.

The Swamp Thing didn't hesitate to show it how bad of an idea that was.

He melded to the ground and sprouted up in an instant, on the other side of the shield. He caught the artificial Kryptonian in his hand, slammed it into the ground and glared at it.

"You owe your lives to The Green, Abomination," The Swamp Thing said. He down at the struggling creation. He extended his fingers, rooting them to the ground, and pressed down on the creation's chest. "Try to attack The Green's Sage again, and I promise you it will be a swift demise."

The other teenagers made to move, to challenge The Swamp Thing, but stopped at Batman's shout: "Team, stand down!"

"But he's-!"

"Robin!" Batman glared pointedly at the boy. The one called Robin was cowed. The Swamp Thing was impressed and somewhere, Alec Holland would have been jealous that he couldn't do the same with Naruto Uzumaki. Batman returned his gaze to the duplicate of The Sage.

"You never told us you could access The Red," he said. The Swamp Thing scowled at the human. He had no right to sound so upset.

"First of all, jerk, yeah we did. Back when Hal Lantern introduced us," the Sage clone said, his arms crossed. He narrowed his eyes. "Second, you were the one who threw a mixed bag of nuts together in an experimental simulation! They might not realize it, but what the boss did in there saved their lives!"

"Or it could've killed them!"

"And what would you have done?"

For that, Batman had no answer. The Sage clone nodded.

"Yeah. Boss acted based on what he knew we could do. If he hadn't, they could've all ended up dead or worse. Have fun sleeping with that on your conscious."

"You _killed_ us! How well will _you_ sleep with that on _your_ conscious?" the Abomination snarled. The Swamp Thing pressed down on it. Now was not the time for such pettiness.

The Sage clone's shoulders sagged and his head fell. The Green tried to comfort him, but he pushed it away. The Swamp Thing frowned, The Sage should never push The Green away. All the more evidence that The Sage needed to get out of here. Away from these humans.

"The Boss did, and he's sorry that he had to do that to you. To all of you. It was all he could think of after Kur-The Red woke him up," The Sage's clone said.

The Swamp Thing furrowed his brow. So, Naruto Uzumaki decided to keep Kurama The Red Avatar a secret? Very well, The Swamp Thing will keep Kurama The Red Avatar a secret, too.

"If the Boss is so sorry why doesn't he apologize himself?" Robin asked. He seemed as angry as the rest, save for a confused Tamaranean and a cowering, oversized wolf.

"Because I needed to pack."

* * *

Naruto used The Green's flight to land beside his clone. In his hand was a small scroll, the same one he'd left the swamp with, the one that sealed away the little and precious belongings he'd obtained since he arrived. He walked up to the shield, standing across from his Tamaranean sister.

"Koriand'r," he said. She floated over to be in front him and he put a hand on the shield. He tried to let his relief at her living, his joy of their memories and his familial love for her filter past The Green and to her. "Be good for them."

"What is the matter?" Koriand'r asked. She pushed against the shield, trying to get through. "What has happened? Why does Robin and Superboy think you killed them? That is not, that cannot be true, you are a Lantern of The Green! You are a hero!"

"I'm not that kind of Lantern, Kori. You know that," Naruto said. He smiled at her, the same one he wore whenever his homeland came up in conversation.

"Then why? What happened?" Koriand'r's lip began to tremble and she shook her head. "I do not understand why you have to go! Why must you leave?"

"Because I did a very bad thing. I did it for the right reason, but that doesn't make it right," Naruto said. He reached up and tapped the band around his head. "Back home, I had a teacher who had a saying he taught my team after we initially failed his test: 'Those who break the rules are trash, but those who abandon their friends are worse than trash'. I did what I thought that I had to do to save my friends, but in doing so I broke the rules and I hurt them. I have to leave."

"I do not want you to go," Koriand'r admitted as she cried. She punched on the wall. "You cannot go! It is not fair! You said you helped them! They are still alive!"

"Koriand'r, stop!" The Green bent the shield around his hand and he caught her wrist before she could strike it again. Her emissive eyes had dimmed, revealing green sclera and irises, while clear tears poured down her cheeks. He smiled sadly.

"I don't want to go either," he said. The Green allowed him to gather her in a hug, warping the shield as he did. "It isn't fair for them if I stay. I hurt them, Kori. _I_ chose to hurt them. I wasn't forced by a bad guy, I knew there could be better ways, right ways, but I didn't think of any. You don't have to be better, but be good."

Naruto released her and stepped back, allowing her to float away. The shield reverted to normal and he looked at the rest of The Team, meeting their angry and scared gazes.

"What I did to all of you was wrong, and I am so sorry that I did it," he said. "I can't justify why I did it other than I thought it would help you all live. Maybe one day, you'll forgive me, and we can be friends on your terms. Just know that if you need my help, I will be there."

He then turned and walked to the Zeta Tube. He wasn't going to say goodbye, because 'goodbye' was hard. With the quick rundown of the machine that Robin gave him a few weeks prior, Naruto entered a set of coordinates and stepped into the light.

He was gone moments later, and then the console was destroyed by The Swamp Thing.

* * *

 **San Diego, October 18th, 2010**

It had only been two days, almost three, since he left Mount Justice. He'd spent a day with Swamp Thing, seeking comfort within The Green, before deciding that moping wasn't his thing. He asked Kurama for help in getting a better grasp on using The Red. Kurama couldn't help directly - which totally figured. Not once has Naruto ever had a hands on teacher. Outside of Taijutsu or Senjutsu, anyway - but he did have a few ideas.

A chuckle escaped his lips as large dual colored bear rubbed her head against his.

"Aw, what's wrong Bai Yun? Was I spacing out, again?" Naruto asked the panda, scratching her behind the ear. He didn't care about the people snapping pictures of him as he hung out with the oversize and downright fluffy bears. The zookeepers had long since given up on trying to get the young, red-clad hero to get out of the dangerous situation he was in.

 _When you said I have to embrace The Red's source, I expected more blood to be involved,_ he thought while he let Bai Yun and her family cuddle around him. _All I have to do is hang around with the animals? This isn't so hard._

" _It's not that simple, boy. It's more of a gesture. Think about when you meditate, you surround yourself with nature to become one with it. This is hardly close to what I meant._ " Kurama grumbled.

 _I thought I'd take a break before diving back into the whole hero thing,_ Naruto thought. He grunted and bent forward awkwardly when Yun Zi, Bai Yun's youngest cub, threw himself at the back of his head.

"Ow, hey! That's not being gentle, Yun Zi!" he scolded the cub. Yun Zi growled and bit into his arm. The crowd gasped when the little bear began to jerk and pull, but Naruto paid it no mind. His body was often enhanced by Sage Mode and protected by The Green. The Red gave him a thick skin, so no blood was drawn.

" _While you play around, that feeling is getting worse._ " Kurama growled. Naruto rolled his eyes and gently pried Yun Zi off of his arm, and then nudged the cub over to his mother.

"Yeah, I feel it, too," Naruto said. A particularly harsh tug came from The Green and he winced. Against his will, The Red's color and light bled away, shifting into that of The Green's, and the crowd of tourists became very excited at the sight. He carefully removed himself from the bear pile and gave each panda an affectionate rub, scratch or pat. "Sorry, guys, but Nature calls and The Sage must answer."

He floated up and gave a small, placating wave to the people. Humans were too easy to appease, sometimes. At least he had more dignity than that. Unless, of course, Ramen were involved, but c'mon, it's _Ramen_.

'Nuff said.

"So what do you think is behind this?" Naruto asked as he began to fly through San Diego. He watched people scurry about like ants and snorted. He was so glad he wasn't born a normal person here, their lives seemed so dull.

" _Beats killing your friends and losing their trust, doesn't it?_ " A soft voice asked.

"What?!" Naruto asked, glaring down at his stomach.

" _I'm sorry are you angry at me for not being all-knowing, or are you just being a brat for the sake of being a brat?_ " Kurama asked.

"I'm angry at what you just said!"

" _You're angry at me for saying 'your guess is as good as mine'? And I thought you were incredibly stupid before,_ " Kurama said.

"That's not what you said and you know it," Naruto snapped.

" _What are you talking about?_ "

"I was thinking about how dull it would be to be born in this world without powers and you said it would be better than killing my friends! I thought we were past the snide comments!"

" _Naruto, as much as I love to insult your intelligence and ridiculously moral personality, I would never say that to you. Especially not now._ "

"Well it's not like I have another snide, antagonistic voice in my head, now is it?"

" _How would I know?_ "

" _Yes, how would he know?_ "

"...Okay, stop messing around."

" _What?_ "

" _He's just a big, stupid fox._ " The other voice sneered. It became louder and Naruto came to a stop in the air, looking around for any possible threats. " _Dumb animal doesn't know better. But we do, don't we brother?_ "

"Kurama? Can you really not hear that?" Naruto asked softly.

" _I have no clue what you're talking about. Have you been eating something weird?_ " Kurama asked. " _Well, weirder than usual?_ "

"Ramen is not weird!" " _It's the food of the gods!_ "

Finally, the other voice was making sense! ...Wait.

"Kurama. Tell me you heard that."

" _Naruto, I don't know how many times you want me to tell you this, but I am the only voice inside your head._ "

" _He thinks he's_ _so_ _smart. Live a few hundred years and you'd seem pretty smart, too, brother._ "

"That's it, get out of my head!" Naruto demanded. He swiveled around in the air. "Who are you? That Simon, guy? Stop messing around and show yourself!"

" _Naruto, what are you talking about?_ " Kurama asked. " _There's no one in here with us! I would know!_ "

" _Patience, brother, patience. All in due time, it'll make sense._ "

"Make sense now dammit!" Naruto screamed. He balled his ringed hand into a fist before lifting both hands in front of him. Clones, dozens of them, exploded into existence. He thrust his hand out. "Find him! Now!"

"Right!" The clones chorused before they rocketed off towards the city. Or, at least, they started to. A painful squeal came from every clone's ring as The Green forced them to stop. Each clone dispelled, slowly, leaving Naruto alone covering his ears as The Green scolded him for wasting too much time and energy.

" _Naruto, what the hell is wrong with you!?_ " Kurama asked. " _You can't just make an army and have it search a city! Are you out of your mind? The other meatbags on this rock will think you've flipped your lid!_ "

"I...I think I already did," Naruto said, cringing as The Green's scolding came to an end. His eyes shifted all around him, still searching for a possible threat. Closing his eyes, Naruto took a deep breath and centered himself. His heart rate slowed, his mind cleared and the paranoia ebbed away. He opened his eyes again and looked out over the Californian city.

"Kurama," he began. "Are you sure? Can you tell me with one hundred percent certainty that we're the only ones in my head and have been for the past few minutes?"

" _There was never anyone else._ "

"...That's what I'm afraid of..."

* * *

 **AN: Hoo, boy. Eng and I worked hard on this'n. Chapter 8 is looking great, with any luck you won't have to wait!**

 **Brushing up on my rhyme, because that's what we're focusing on next time.**

 **That's the only hint I'm giving you, y'all know what comes next:**

 **REVIEW!**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN: Okay, so here's sort of a blend between my previous works. And this time, I'm not going it alone.**

 **Co-Written by Engineer4Ever**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Young Justice**_ **!**

 **Rise of the Titans**

 **8: Solomon**

* * *

 **Jump City, October 29th, 2010**

Why was it always a Friday? Ever since that alien attack at the start of the month, something would happen. It always happened on a Friday, on a night that she wanted to have to herself. Why not on Sunday or Wednesday? That way she could get a few school days off or, I don't know, actually _enjoy_ a weekend! Is it too much to ask for? She certainly didn't think so.

Instead of having to recover and rest, she wanted to be able to go out and meet some friends! Or enjoy a family movie night! Or sneak out to go to a party!

Denying such rights were punishable by feminine teenage fury.

Courtney Whitmore had _plenty_ of it to dish out.

"All I wanted to do was watch some cheesy horror films on Netflix, but _no-o-o_. Stupid, undead freaks have to decide to come out tonight!" A crooked staff twirled in her hands, and the up and coming heroine known as Stargirl rained down some cosmic might. The bright beam eradicated the walking corpse with ease. She rested her staff at her side and blew a few strands of blonde out of her eyes, then lifted her free hand to press on a white and blue earpiece. "Hey, Vic, how's it going on your end?"

" _I am so glad I have protective headgear right now. Less brain feed for you zombies!_ "

"You have a brain to offer them?" She teased as she tapped into her staff's power and floated out of the grabby undead's way.

" _Girl, you are lucky we are dealing with the Zombiepocalypse or I would smack that cheek right off!_ "

"At least I won't have to worry about that." Courtney smirked and aimed her staff at a zombie that resembled one of her ex-boyfriends in Los Angeles. "Goodbye, Kyle."

" _Which one was that?_ "

"The artist," she said, while casually sending another beam at another zombie.

" _Was he a quiet, gifted artist or a 'let me draw you nekkid' artist?_ "

"Why are you my friend, again?" She asked around a snort. Vic was an easy-going guy, able to put stress in his back pocket because of his...differences from the rest of the world. He'd be a great hero if could convince himself that being different wasn't bad.

" _Because we're the only Superheroes in this city. Well, aside from Vigilante, but, he drifts along the west coast, so I don't think that he counts._ "

"Sometimes I wish I didn't get this stupid thing from Knight," Courtney said as she aimed her staff at a group of undead. A tug sent them down with jarring force as she created a gravity well. They splattered and she squeaked when she barely managed to avoid a still twitching limb that made a grab at her. "Zombies are _disgusting_!"

" _Well, yeah. That's kind of their thing. Which reminds me, you wanna come over and watch the premiere of The Walking Dead? I got a high-def fifty-five inch screen - Excuse me! Can't you see I'm in the middle of conversation, right no - oh, my_ _ **god**_ _!_ "

"Vic, what's going on?" She asked. She turned in the air and began to fly over to give him a hand. "Is it a horde?"

" _No it's a-Geez! It's a friggin tank! Eat my sonic blast, ha-booyah!_ " His excited cry was followed by a sharp whir, before a burp was heard. " _Huh...Evidently, it eats sonic blasts. Ah, man, that's so not fair!_ "

"What is it?" Stargirl asked. While she awaited a response, she used the Cosmic Staff to lasso a group of zombies and chucked them into orbit. There was grunting, growls and combat cries coming over the line, and her patience began to run out. "Vic? ...Victor? ...Cyborg?"

" _In_ coming!" Courtney turned towards the approaching voice and grunted as a partially mechanical young man suddenly slammed into her from below. They fell from the sky and landed in a heap of limbs in the center of the street below.

"I really need to install a jetpack," Victor said with a groan. Courtney huffed and pushed at what she thought was his elbow. "Hey, watch the knee!"

"Then get off!" She growled as she pushed at his limb.

"Hey, it wasn't like I wanted to land - Uh-oh. The big guy followed me." Cyborg's whimper made Courtney look up once she pried herself out from their intertwined position. She looked up further and saw a massive behemoth of a man. Or, at least, what looked like the remains of a man.

It was like a sick, grey recolored version of a juiced up Frankenstein Monster. Staples or chains could be seen piercing skin. The chest had a massive hole in it, allowing the not beating heart and water-logged lungs to be seen.

"Where does, how-?" Courtney failed to form worlds as sweat trickled down her neck. Her heart pounded against her ribcage and her grasp on the Cosmic Staff in tightened. People around her screamed as the behemoth approached her.

"Solomon Grundy, born on a Monday," it growled. With each step it recited the lines of the classic poem. "Christened on Tuesday. Married on Wednesday. Ill on Thursday. Worse on Friday. Died on Saturday. Buried on Sunday. That was the end of Solomon Grundy."

"...I peed a little. I didn't think I could, but I did," Cyborg said without shame. She looked around and saw they were near the limits of Jump City. Just a few miles out was U.S. soil that didn't require care or pavement from the city.

"We need to get him out of here," she said. "He's going to massacre everything in his path."

"Uh, hate to be the bearer of bad news, Stargirl, but that means us, too." Victor pointed out.

"We're heroes." She swallowed as a sense of dread washed over her. "I-It's what we do. What we _have_ to do."

"I hate this job. Why'd I agree to it again?"

"Either you wanted to stick it to your Mom or because you're a better person than me," she said. She used her staff to get to her feet and then pushed off the ground to hover. Cyborg snorted and pushed himself to his feet. He shifted his shoulders, and the metallic panels on them shifted. His arms reconstructed in a way to give him more 'muscle' power rather than energy.

"Definitely not the second one. I'm just a dumb jock." He punched one hand into the other. "You ready?"

"Guess we'll find out," Stargirl said. She tightened her grip on the Star Staff and let energy build at the tip. "Tow him out like we did with Daddy Dingus?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Cyborg said. He charged forward and dug his shoulders into the massive zombie's gut. The behemoth roared and dug its feet into the ground, the asphalt being torn beneath its feet. They made it a half mile up the street before the momentum went out and Cyborg was pushing against an undead wall. He groaned and his one red eye looked over at her. "Anytime you'd like to step in would be great!"

"I'm charging up! Hold him a little longer!"

"Court, this thing is bigger than my Grammy! I _can't_ hold him a little longer!" Cyborg protested. As if to prove his point, the zombie, still repeating the lines of Solomon Grundy, grabbed Cyborg's shoulders and pushed back. This time it was Victor who began to rip up the asphalt. "Stargirl, he's fighting back! I think he's done playing!"

"Come on, come on." Courtney glared at the staff as it flickered with white embers. A moment later, the flame blazed around the crook of her staff. "Finally! Cyborg, get out of the way!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Cyborg shouted back. He ducked his head and an extension came from the back of his right shoulder. It shot forward and jabbed itself into the hole that exposed the monster's chest cavity. Lightning raced through the zombie, causing it to loosen its grip. Cyborg used the opportunity to dish out a double-handed uppercut to knock the zombie back a few more steps, then tuck and roll out of the way.

"Booyah!" he cheered at his successful escape and pointed at Stargirl. "Hit him!"

Courtney roared as she whipped her staff like a hockey stick and the fire launched in a rolling arc at the undead behemoth. The cosmic fire melted the asphalt into hot liquid as it swallowed up the monster.

"Nice shot!" Cyborg jogged over to her, sweat dripping from the exposed skin along the metal portion of his body. "Man that is hot! Like...is that fire from a star?"

" _Controlled_ fire from a star," she corrected him with a tired smile as she leaned against her staff. She surveyed the area and grimaced. "The best part about being a superhero? We don't get sued for the damages."

"Thank God for small mercies," he chuckled. "Ready to go kick more zombie butt?"

Before they felt they could go finish off the rest of the horde, a roar from the middle of the fire sent a chill down their spines. They looked back at the fire, watching a shadow become more prominent as it dwindled.

"No," Courtney said, her blue eyes going wide. She almost slumped to her knees in defeat. A quake nearly sent them to the ground.

"You have got to be kidding me," Cyborg said, disbelief on his face.

"Solomon Grundy," the zombie growled as it emerged from the fire. Its massive hands balled into fists and it reared its head back. "Born on a _Monday_!"

"I think you only made him angrier!" Cyborg cried.

"He should be toast!" She shouted at him, stumbling backwards. "What does it take to put this guy down? A nuke!?"

"Christened on a Tuesday!" The zombie stomped forward. Its speed picked up and it began to jog towards them. "Married on a Wednesday!"

"Charge up again!" Cyborg shouted at her. Stargirl reeled on him.

"I'm practically wiped out from the first shot!"

"You didn't have a Plan B?!"

"That was Plans B-Z! Do you have anything in mind?"

"Ill on Thursday!" Grundy snarled as it got closer. They began to scramble back.

"Yeah, I just got a plan! Ninety-five percent sure it won't work, but it's a plan!"

"I'm all ears!"

"Worse on Friday!" Grundy reached out to grab them.

Cyborg shifted his arms into sonic cannons. He fired off two powerful streams of energy that slowed the zombie down. Then, he twisted in a way only a former football player could, and then shouted his plan at the top of his lungs as he sprinted in the opposite direction.

" _RETREAT_!"

"That's your plan?! I could have thought of that! I _did_ think of that!" With a bit of effort, Courtney jumped into the air and began to fly away. She was too drained for her usual speed or altitude, so she began to fly drunkenly in the air. Small bursts got her out of a few close calls, but Grundy was much faster than one would expect of something its size.

"Dead on Saturday!" Courtney looked over her shoulder and saw that Grundy was gaining on her.

 _I'm going to die, I'm going to die, I'm going to die,_ ran in a loop through Courtney's head. Tears built up as she thought about her mom, stepdad, and her baby stepbrother back home. Pat had warned her this job was dangerous, but she didn't think he included possible death by zombie frankenstein in that!

Something latched onto her leg and crushed her foot. A scream ripped from her mouth. Then her back stung, and she saw stars, oddly not like the ones on her costume. Bummer, cartoons lied to her.

Her mind was hazy but the fear was still there, a whimper escaped her as she tried anything. Her hand was empty, she lost her hold on the Cosmic Staff in the fall. Or was it a slam? Momentarily, she was thankful for the Cosmic Belt she wore. It may not have saved her foot from being crushed, but it did keep her head from splattering on the pavement when the monster threw her down.

"Buried on Sunday!"

Grundy stood over her, its fists raised above its head. Courtney closed her eyes, waiting for the final surge of pain before the blissful peace that should follow. She thought she'd get that, at least, for all the good she tried to do.

"That was-Urg!"

Something snatched her up off of the ground. She peeked open one eye to find a green orb of light around her. Upon a full survey of the situation, she found that the orb was moving her out of the way. It stopped at the sidewalk and vanished, dropping her onto her bottom.

And her broken foot.

In a word, um, _ow_.

She glared over at the jerk that dropped her on her injured foot, then did a double take. She gaped, faintly recalling the brief media story that covered sightings of a blond Green Lantern in Jump City. Apparently he was speculated to be another alien hero or something. She thought, at the time, that aliens were stealing the limelight from the people who called Earth their home and risked their lives defending it.

Now, however, she thought that forest green was _totally_ not his color, but he still made it work.

"That's where you've got it wrong, Cyrus," he said. A large green fist manifested and knocked the behemoth away like it was nothing. The pain and anger that had began to burn within her faded into obscurity at the sight. Grundy landed just outside of the city. The Lantern floated up and crossed his fingers.

Courtney's jaw fell open as two other Lanterns, exact duplicates, appeared beside the original. They began to cup their hands over the original's. Within seconds, a large, bladed sphere of energy was in his hand and held over his head.

"The Green is the end of Solomon Grundy."

Then he threw it, and Jump City gained a new tourist trap.

* * *

The past week and a half had been Hell.

Naruto tried to practice his newfound connection to The Red with Kurama's assistance, but all it did was remind him of what he first used the power for and the guilt ate away at him. The snide, mysterious voice didn't help matters, either. Kurama insisted that the voice was a figment of his imagination, but he wasn't entirely sure. A lot of those words hit a little too close to home.

It didn't help that The Green insisted that he be ready for 'the challenger'. It woke him an hour or two after he fell asleep each day and granted him little time to rest. Meditation relieved the symptoms of sleep-deprivation, but only for so long. It was getting to the point that he wondered how Gaara managed to stay as 'sane' as he did with the Ichibi.

What's worse, is that The Red's influence had begun to make him see mortal danger as a natural course of life. He'd almost _ignored_ someone in distress, before he came to his senses. It was after he saved the woman from a group of thugs in an alleyway that he and Kurama 'sat down' and discussed The Red's influence.

"It isn't about killing or not killing," The Fox had said, "Killing for sport, for fun, is a detestable act. Whenever I partook in meaningless killing, I was usually under someone's control. That attack on your village? I was enslaved for the most part. Your parents and some of it beforehand, however, that was self-defense. I didn't want to be caged again and look at how that turned out for me. Most animals kill for nourishment or in self-defense, that's why you humans dubbed it the fight-or-flight response. Sentient beings, that is, those with higher brain functions and little instinctual drive, find arbitrary reasons to kill. Jealousy, love, honor, and fear are some of the few."

"And the ones that kill just to kill?" Naruto had asked. "Who enjoy it? What about them?"

"Those are the ones that cause your species and others like it to leave a bad taste in my mouth. I've killed thousands of warriors in my life, Naruto, most of them attacked me first because I was larger and stronger. They feared for their lives, and I understood that. I didn't like it, but I understood. The ones who kill because it appeals to something within them, for no benefit other than themselves, are monsters. When that woman was threatened, what did you feel?"

"I feared for her. I didn't want her to die, and the thugs either wanted her money or...or they, y'know."

"Greed is the ultimate fault of Humanity, Naruto. Animals do not know it, they act off their needs: Food, reproduction, and territory. Humanity, despite appearing so distant from instincts, still find those needs sated. However, they have a drive, a desire, for more. More food. More territory. More sex. That desire, that Greed, for more leads them down dark paths. A thief could be a greedy man, or a starving one. A killer could be a psychopath, or a soldier. Greed is a blight on your species, one that The Red cannot comprehend. The Green, however…"

It was then, Naruto learned more about his Life-Force and its 'challenger'. The Green spread across the world, despite temperature or location, it was found within the domains of The Clear and intruded upon urban settlements. One would think this as Greed, but to The Green was simply a matter of fact: The Green was on Earth _first_. It helped establish The Clear, and helped The Red get a foothold, but it was the first Life-Force on the planet. Everything else was secondary.

With The Clear comfortable in its domain, it allowed The Green some leeway. The Green and The Red co-existed peacefully, one kept the other in check. This once applied to Humans, but once Humanity broke free of The Red, they fell under the grasp of something else.

Humans called it Death, which wasn't entirely inaccurate, but overly simplified. The Emotional Spectrum distinguished it as The Black, the Absence of Light. The Clear and The Red called it The Inevitable, and had a weak tolerance to it.

The Green called it The Rot, and they were bitter foes.

The Green may have been the first on Earth, but The Rot was The _First_ Life-Force. It had tried many times to snuff out the other Life-Forces, even tricking The Green into helping form The Grey (an event that The Green refused to fully share and that The Swamp Thing kept quiet about), but The Green always stood up against it. The Green protected Earth, it protected its home and protected the life to those that shared it.

The Rot had wormed its way into the trinity of Earth's Life Forces, and eventually, chose an Avatar from the species that didn't fall under the control of the three Life-Forces: Humanity. Every century, it would invoke something, a plague or virus, or inspire a deity of war or two to make things interesting, but using humanity to do its dirty work was The Rot's preferred method.

The Avatar of The Rot came in the form of Cyrus Gold, or as he was known before he was fully claimed by The Rot on his deathbed, King Midas. The king's myths, when Naruto found a book that included them at a small library outside of the big city, were inaccurate according to The Green.

Oh, the Golden Touch was real, but he never once cursed its origin nor had he challenged a ruling between gods and gotten donkey ears. Midas had found joy in his touch, eating only the finest meals and earning more gold for his kingdom. His children were turned to statues out of a desire to make his reign eternal - in his mind, solid gold heirs meant for an endless rule. Then, he was visited by an ally of The Green, Demeter, who was worried for the harvest. He assured her that the wheats would be fine, but she disagreed. She took his gift away, and that is what lead him to sorrow.

Since his death as Midas, The Rot brought him back, each act of doing so eroding more and more of his memory. By the time he was Cyrus Gold, a mob boss in the latter half of the 20th century, he could only grunt. The reciting of the English poem came from a spell used on him by Dr. Fate; considered by many at the time an effort to teach humility. Or perhaps, as The Swamp Thing suggested, the Lord of Order knew what he would become through precognitive sorcery. (Naruto didn't buy that for a second. He wasn't exactly a fan of fate, be it a doctor or otherwise.)

Once he knew The Rot's Avatar and his origin, Naruto sought out the man's grave and stop him before he could rise again. Scattering the limbs would make for a good start. It was a difficult task - who knew that a desert could be so vast? - but once he found the grave, it was empty.

The past three days, Naruto followed the reanimated corpse of Cyrus Gold as it invoked a wordless spell to raise the dead in several small towns. The horde was kept diminished, The Green's Lantern always put the dead back to rest, but Cyrus Gold always slipped away.

For a big guy, he was very fast.

Finally, though, he had caught up to Cyrus. Right in the nick of time, too, otherwise that starry-girl would've been mashed into the pavement. Oh well, he did once say that the Hero always shows up at the last minute.

"You know, for all the trouble he gave me, I figured it'd take more than one Rasenshuriken to put him down," Naruto said as he watched the impact of his attack swallow Cyrus' form. The Green insisted he press on, that he ensure the threat was eradicated, but as far as he concerned, Cyrus was dead-er, dealt with. He was atomized on a cellular level.

"Solomon... _Grundy_!"

The roar made him whip around and stare at the mangled being that hauled itself out of the crater. Its chest slowly reconstructed, leaving the gaping hole that exposed its cavity, and the demolished left limbs built back from a mass of some sort. A quick survey revealed the mysterious material to be the rotten flesh of the defeated members of Cyrus' horde.

"Oh, you've _got_ to be kidding me!" He grimaced. The Green sent a scolding in the form of a headache. He groaned and grabbed his head. "Okay, okay, you were right, 'ttebayo! Now stop yelling at _me_ and tell me how to stop _him_!"

Images of plants, trees and various flora flashed through his head. A large crash and his eyes cracked open to find a rotted chest in front of him. Naruto took a moment to glare at his ring.

"Your communication skills need work," He said before he took an uppercut that knocked him into the air. He steadied himself after a few flips and then glared down at the undead behemoth. The blow had made him bite his tongue.

"Born on a Monday!" Cyrus shouted, crouching down to leap up away from The Green's Lantern. Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, no, you're not getting away from me this time, ya bastard," he growled. He rocketed down and when close enough, flipped forward to drive his heels onto Cyrus' head just as the undead man made his leap. The Avatar of The Rot's attempt to flee was stopped, but it left a heck of a pothole in the process. A thirty foot deep one.

Naruto hovered over the dark tunnel, his eyes narrowed. The Green urged cautious action, but he wasn't going to dive down into the darkness. Who knows what these people kept under their city?

"Hey! You! Lantern!" His debate with his Life-Force was put on hold when the female voice called his attention away from the hole. The starry-girl he saved before was standing on one foot, using the building behind her as a way to keep upright. He looked at her other foot and grimaced on her behalf, she was injured by Cyrus worse than he thought.

The Green agreed and Naruto found himself whisked away from Cyrus' tunnel. Within a few seconds he was back in front of the girl, running on a begrudging autopilot. The Green had taken control of his body before, usually to teach him something about its powers, and yeah, the first time freaked him out, but it was never done maliciously.

"You know what-Excuse you! What are you doing!?" The starry-girl demanded when he grabbed her injured leg. He blushed and tried to sputter out an apology, but didn't dare look up. The girl was toned, and her shorts were _very_ short and _very_ tight.

 _Kami, these legs are so firm, and that stomach - Whoa, hold on! Boundaries, Green! We've discussed this!_ He hissed to The Green when his hands began to feel out her injury in an intimate manner. Kurama took that moment to make a comment.

" _Don't females of your species find the act of a foot massage pleasurable?_ "

 _How the heck do you-? On second thought, I don't want to know. Yeah, usually they do, but not when it isn't consensual! Geez, make me look like a weirdo…_

" _You are a 'weirdo', brother._ "

Naruto ignored The Voice for the sake of his own sanity and focused on what he was doing. The Green's power flowed through his hands, melding with his chakra, and enveloped the girl's foot. The green light then sank into the limb, forcing bones back into place and sped up their healing. When it was finished, he was quick to pull his hands away. She gingerly placed her foot on the ground and put some pressure on it.

"Wow, um, thanks, I guess," she said, a bit surprised. Then her arms crossed and she glared at him. "Next time, give a girl some warning."

By her words and the fact that the glare was half-hearted, he could tell she was genuinely grateful. He would be too; healing broken bones the normal way sucked.

"Sorry, my powers have a mind of their own sometimes," Naruto said as he scratched the back of his head and grinned like an idiot. Stupid anti-social awkwardness around pretty girls, that foot thing probably wouldn't help him leave a good first impression, either.

She held up her hand and a moment later a golden crooked staff flew into grasp. She glanced at the staff dryly.

"Yeah, I guess I can relate," she said. She let the staff rest in her arm and looked at him expectantly. "So do you know who that zombie is or what?"

"Cyrus Gold."

"Christened on _Tuesday_!" The roar was accompanied by the street's explosion. A green energy shield shot up before debris could rain down on him and the girl. Naruto felt his shoulders sag at the sight of it.

"By the merciful Kami, do you ever stay dead for more than three seconds?" he wondered. The blonde looked at him oddly and he shrugged. "What?"

A faint voice tickled Naruto's ear as the blonde put a finger to her own. A second later and she spoke, and he understood. An earpiece, now that was nostalgic. He hadn't seen earpieces since he was a kid. Who knew that Martian telepathy and an ambiguous Life Force's method of nonverbal communication would make one become so forgetful of simple and effective technology.

"Cyborg, yeah, I'm fine. We've got a Green Lantern back-up," she said. Her eyes narrowed and she glared at nothing. "On that note: Really!? You left me to die?!"

Oh, the ringing of an angry girl's voice in his ear. Naruto didn't miss that at all.

"Hate to interrupt, but Cyrus is looking quite upset," he said, nodding at the disoriented zombie that shambled around in a circle, as if trying to find them, shouting out lines of his poem. He tilted his head. "I must have hit him harder than I thought."

A growl to his left made him realize that he was, in fact, wrong. Zombies began to pour into the street from the rest of the city. Cyrus wasn't shouting threats, he was rallying his troops.

 _How the hell am I supposed to stop all of this? There's at least a thousand dead here!_ He wailed internally.

A blast of energy slammed into Cyrus' chest and sent him into a store front. People screamed and Naruto looked at the girl that did the deed.

"Did you just shoot him with magic?" he asked. Magic was so cool, it was like ninjutsu, but, _magical_.

"Cosmic Energy," she said. She gave him a small, tired half-grin. "They don't call me Stargirl just because of my awesome outfit, you know."

"Oh, I-I never would've guessed," Naruto said, lying through his teeth. That's exactly what he did. He made a few clones to deal with the influx of zombies and then grinned at her. "Call me Sage."

"...Your name is Sage and you're a Green Lantern?" Stargirl had a grin of massive proportions on her face. Naruto's grin faltered and he groaned.

"Why does everyone keep saying that? I'm not a Green Lantern," he said. "I'm an Agent of The Green."

"Lanterns."

"That is so not even close to being funny, 'ttebayo," he grumbled. Stargirl smirked at him and he made another clone appear at his side. It cupped its hands over his and they began to make a Rasengan. "Think you can get his attention? I'm going to try destroying his head, again."

The Green protested, but went ignored while Stargirl rolled her eyes.

"If that wasn't all I can do right now, I'd call bullshit," she said. She floated off the ground and towards Cyrus. "Oh, Grundy! How's your landing strategy?"

A white energy lasso wrapped around the massive zombie and lasted one tug before Cyrus burst out of the bind.

Naruto saw the grimace that crossed over Stargirl's face when she dodged a tossed fruit display. She was more tired than she'd let on. He shared a look with his clone and both nodded. The clone flew ahead, snatching Stargirl into its arms and pulling her out of Cyrus' reach.

Naruto flew in behind his clone. He let out a quick and sharp whistle when his clone grabbed Stargirl to get Cyrus' attention. When the behemoth Avatar of The Rot turned to face him, he thrust his attack forward and drove it into Cyrus' skull with a war cry.

"Rasengan!"

The chakra ball on his palm ground away at the zombie's flesh and bone. He roared as the attack ground away until he reached the middle of Cyrus' spine. Once there, he kicked off the remains of the body and sent it tumbling into a heap. He then winced and sent a look at Stargirl.

"Could you _not_ destroy my clones so cruelly?" he asked.

"All I did was elbow it!" Stargirl protested. She crossed her arms and looked away with a huff. "Be grateful I didn't aim lower."

" _Point to the meatbag._ "

 _Shut up_. Naruto pulled his attention away from The Red's Avatar and looked over the horde. The dead wandered aimlessly in the street, just moaning and groaning, many allowed his clones to destroy them without protest.

"Weird," he said. Stargirl looked at him.

"What? The fact that there's a bunch of dead people in the street, or the fact that you just turned that guy into ground beef?" she asked. He shrugged and cupped his chin.

"I really feel like it should've been harder than that. I mean, surviving a Rasenshuriken was easy for Cyrus, and that thing destroys cells," Naruto said. "The Rasengan is the weaker of the two, it only grinds. So why did that work and not the Rasenshuriken?"

A rumble caused the two blonds saw the massive corpse once more get to his feet. The horde, in comparison, began to rot away. Flesh and bone broke down and flew at the standing corpse, reconstructing it, only... _bigger_.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say it didn't work," Stargirl said as they stared up at the giant. Easily two-stories tall, Cyrus drummed on his enormous chest like a gorilla.

"Solomon Grundy, _born on a Monday_!" The Green actually took the time to translate it for Naruto. Needless to say, he was not amused at the taunt.

"Yeah, well...Today's _Friday_ , ya dumbass!" Naruto shouted at it. He shrugged when he caught the disbelieving look on Stargirl's face. "What? He called me short."

"You're practically six feet tall!"

"...I _am_?!" He didn't know that. Is that why his pants looked ridiculous now? Or, well, if one asked Robin, they did. Then again, who was he to judge? Didn't he run around in a traffic light outfit?

"Look can we discuss this after we take care of the _giant zombie attacking us!_ " Her pointed shout made him shake himself from his melancholy thoughts.

"Right!" Naruto nodded. Wailing on Cyrus would knock him down, but he'd tried that before and he almost lost track of the massive undeadman when he got a good hit in. The Rasengan and Rasenshuriken were out because apparently The Rot had decided to affirm itself as a villain and not play fair. He couldn't think of any seals that he knew of that would help. So, he looked at Stargirl hopefully. "You got any ideas?"

"You are the second guy to ask me that today. If I had any ideas, I wouldn't be waiting on you," She growled.

"Okay, geez, don't bite my head off. It was just a question, 'ttebayo," he said. Two massive fists came down on them and they leapt out of the way. He glanced down at his ring. _If you have anything to add, now would be the time._

Images of flora rushed through his head and he scowled.

"That isn't helpful!"

"What, dodging?" Stargirl asked as they jumped back again. She fired a small white blast at Cyrus, making the giant zombie shield his face with his hands to keep the annoying stings from hitting it.

"Wasn't talking to you," Naruto said. He closed his eyes. _C'mon, give me something I can work with. Kurama, you got anything?_

" _Yeah. Head's up._ "

"Huh?" Naruto opened his eyes, which then widened he realized he was eclipsed by shadow of another descending fist. "Geez! Thanks for the warning!"

"I did!"

"Wasn't talking to you!"

"Please don't let him be crazy," he heard her mutter. "Please don't let him be crazy."

"Oi! I'll have you know I'm more stupid than I am crazy! ...Wait," he furrowed his brows. Kurama's laughter echoed in the back of his head and Stargirl gave him a flat look.

"That isn't much better," she said. He glowered at her and then at his ring.

"If you refuse to say anything different, then help me understand, 'ttebayo," he implored to The Green. A memory of a comrade left behind surged to the forefront of his mind. It was a man that had short brown hair and wore a faceguard variant of the Konohagakure headband. He also made the occasional freaky face that sent shivers down his spine. The image was followed by a determined bass voice that said a single word.

Mokuton.

Naruto's jaw popped open and Kurama's laughter turned to an outraged roar.

"Are you _serious_? I could use Mokuton this whole time and you never _once_ said anything!?" he demanded, glaring at his ring. The Green sent him the image of a blossom, its equivalent of an apology, before it explained that while it could mimic the effects of such techniques, they wouldn't exactly be the Shodai Hokage's signature ninjutsu. Still, Naruto resisted the urge to clap a hand over his face. He should have really seen this coming, he worked for Nature for the Rikudo Sennin's sake! He wouldn't live this down if anyone ever found out about it.

" _You better not, Naruto! If you_ _ever_ _want me to trust you, you will_ _never_ _use anything that resembles those bullshit techniques! Do you hear me?!_ "

"Kurama, they aren't even the same thing - I'm going to die if I don't use this now, can we save this for later?!" he asked while he took flight and scooped Stargirl out of the way of another attack. He started to fly away from Jump City to get some distance between it and Cyrus. The Avatar of The Red growled, but didn't disagree to the request.

"I thought you agreed to warn me next time? And who are you talking to?" Stargirl asked as she looped an arm around his neck. Smart, he could very easily get distracted and drop her. Granted their closeness would be the cause of the distraction, but that was a problem to think about at a later time.

"The Avatar of The Red. And does it really matter right now?" He shook his head. He landed and set Stargirl down once he was a good few miles outside the city. He turned and faced the ambling giant as it pursued them and put his hands into the ram seal to gather his chakra. "Tell me when he's close enough to hit us. I'm about to do something crazy."

"Can't-believe-I-didn't-think-of-this-before crazy, or this-had-better-work crazy?"

"Just signal me!" He grunted as he pressed his hands together and listened to the instructions from The Green. It told him to focus on his Sage Training, and then make the Earth listen to him.

"Alright, alright, no need to shout," she said, hands up in defense. Naruto closed his eyes and focused as best he could. The thuds of Cyrus Gold's approaching footsteps were dwarfed by the bellowing of his poem.

"Solomon Grundy, Born on Monday!"

 _Mold the chakra through my body and search out The Green in the earth._

"Christened on Tuesday!"

 _Coat The Green with all the chakra I can muster, and then add more to the area around me._

"Married on Wednesday!"

"Okay, whatever you're going to do, do it now!" Stargirl urged. She grabbed his shoulder, but he jostled her off. "What are you waiting for!?"

 _Not ready yet._

"Ill on Thursday!" Cyrus sounded very close.

"Sage!" Stargirl grabbed his arm again and tried to pull him away, but he didn't budge.

 _Almost._

"Worse on Friday!" Cyrus Gold/Solomon Grundy was a small jump away from

 _Now!_

"Cyrus," Naruto said as toad-like irises snapped open and glared at the towering Avatar of The Rot. His hands slammed onto the dirt and the earth trembled. He uttered the rest with the sensation of exhaustion replacing the chakra that raced out of his body and into the ground.

"This time, fucking stay _dead_!"

Grass sprouted across the desert in a two-mile radius, following that were the massive trees that burst from beneath the dirt. A large sapling sprouted beneath him and Stargirl like a rising platform. It gave them the perfect view to watch the end of Cyrus Gold.

Small trees snaked around Cyrus' limbs and then began to grow, while a massive trunk sprouted beneath its torso and rocketed upwards. The giant zombie struggled in the bonds before they started to bloom. Thick pollen seeped out over the area and the struggling began to cease.

"Dead ...on... Saturday!" Cyrus' rumbling growls became labored and his eyes lidded. More of his body disappeared into the trees that held him, until only his head remained visible. Even then, it soon was coated over by wood. "Buried...on...Sunday..."

"Told you... before, Cyrus," Naruto said through tired pants. He collapsed to his hands and knees, soaking in the energy given to him by The Green. He grinned once he was rejuvenated and rose to stand. His gaze remained on the wood-covered face of The Rot's defeated Avatar.

"The Green is the end of Solomon Grundy."

* * *

 **AN: Thus marks the beginning of Naruto/Sage's story outside of The Team. Another adventure or two will occur before we see them again. But fear not, dear readers, for The Green is benevolent and wise.**

 **And no, before any of you review it: Naruto can** _ **NOT**_ **use Mokuton! The Green mimics the techniques.**

 **You know what we want you to do, so it asks that you**

 **REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN: Okay, so here's sort of a blend between my previous works. And this time, I'm not going it alone.**

 **Co-Written by Engineer4Ever**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Young Justice**_ **!**

 **Rise of the Titans**

 **9: Luminescence**

* * *

 **Jump City, October 29th, 2010**

Victor Stone didn't know what to think anymore.

His life had changed a lot after his accident: one minute he was the star quarterback of the Jump City High School's Springers, and the next, he woke up on an operating table with half his body gone. His Mom was suddenly out of the office and back in the house, but he was confined to their island off the coast of Jump City. His promising scholarship and career were lost along with any hope of being seen as 'normal' among the populous. Life seemed meaningless without people, and he was tempted to disappear into his new technological side, but that all changed when he met Stargirl.

He didn't know it at the time, but she was just as new to heroism as he was. Granted, anyone could tell that she was new to the city when they spotted her zipping from one side of Jump to the other, trying to spot the building fire that was being covered by all news stations. A few weeks ago, she was a showboat, doing all that she could to soak up the spotlight after she successfully stopped a crook, like she had something to prove.

With time that changed and, not to brag, but Vic liked to think that he had helped her curb that habit a bit. Their first 'meeting' went about as well as any vigilante interaction: she thought he was a bad-guy, and he thought she was a ditz. Needless to say, they were both in the wrong and have apologized, both to each other and the city for the damage their misunderstanding caused. Since that day, Stargirl and Cyborg have been Jump City's self-appointed enforcers of justice, much to their respective parents' grievances, but that was still being dealt with.

The Zombiepocalypse, though, that was something that came out of left field. Never in a million years could he have anticipated that happening. He even did the math, the chances of successfully anticipating a Zombiepocalypse, let alone surviving it (and that was calculated with the variables of the Justice League and/or villains uniting to solve the problem; the odds still weren't good), was less than one percent.

At first, Vic thought it was one of those Improv Everywhere things, promoting the new zombie show that would premiere on Sunday. Then Courtney called and demanded to know why he was "lazing around" during an attack on the city. On that note, he really needed to develop a system to determine what was a serious threat and what wasn't, maybe a city-wide scanner that could detect acts of violence. The software would be the trick to that idea, but schematics that he may or may not have 'borrowed' from S.T.A.R. Labs would help with the hardware - he was getting side-tracked.

When that freaking monster - Granny? Gunny? Whatever. - appeared, he was thrown off his game. His sonic cannon did absolutely nothing to harm it - that moment when it ate the first blast would forever be logged in his databanks - and it knocked him, _him_ , off of his feet and into the air. Victor wasn't very proud about his body, being that about ninety-one percent of it was machine, but it took a _lot_ of power to launch the weight of a fully grown african elephant into the sky.

That was with _one_ hand.

Vic's processor continued to blare math at him while he and Stargirl tried to fend off the creature. After her failed fire attack, chances of survival dropped to below zero. _Below_ zero. It was negative! He was pretty sure it had been damaged in the initial attack, but still! Below zero?!

Running away seemed like a great idea at the time.

He didn't know that Courtney had exhausted her energy to fly, otherwise he _would_ have done more to help her.

He didn't know that a Green Lantern would be there to help them, or that said Lantern could clone himself.

He definitely didn't know that a Green Lantern could make a forest appear outside of Jump City.

What Victor Stone aka Cyborg did know, was that he owed the Lantern for saving his city, for saving his friend, and for saving his ass.

That's why he offered his place when the Lantern, Sage - Courtney and Vic shared a snicker over the irony - as he insisted to be called, damn near about passed out on the street once the rest of the zombies were taken care of. He claimed it had something to do with his cloning metagene, that their experiences became his own once they were destroyed and their exhaustion piled onto his. The talking to thin air thing and the bags under his eyes made Vic think that maybe the Lantern was more exhausted than he thought.

"And so you brought him _here_? To a privately funded S.T.A.R. Labs facility?" Dr. Elinore Stone leveled her son with an incredulous look. It was a look that Victor was familiar with, the same 'you-can't-be-serious' face that she gave him when he said he wanted to become a professional football player. She pulled her glasses off of her face and rubbed her eyes. "Victor, when you began this ridiculous crusade on behalf of the city, I warned you about the risks-"

"I wouldn't have to resort to this crusade if I didn't look like this!" Victor gestured at his body and his mother's voice caught in her throat. It was the same argument whenever his choice came up, one of the few arguments he could 'win'. He let his arms drop to his side and his shoulders sagged. "Mom, this isn't about me. He needs my help. Our help. It's the least we could do."

"Uh, not to step on anyone's toes, but, I'm-I'm really okay with sleeping outside. Really! I've been doing just fine for the past few weeks," Sage said, scratching the side of his covered face. Dr. Stone gave the young Lantern 'the look' and Victor fought back a grin. Before Sage could protest further, his wrist was snatched and he was gently pulled inside.

"Oh, no. You're staying with us. Victor, get the guest room set and a few of your old clothes for - what's your name again, dear?"

"Uh, Sage, but, really, I can't impose-" Sage tried to protest, but didn't fight back. Vic grinned at the sight now. The guy really wanted to live up to his name. Most street kids would've jumped at the offer of a shower and free room for a night.

"It isn't imposing if we insist. Now, I'll take you to the bathroom and you shower up. You might not look it, but you certainly smell like you've been living outside for weeks and just fought a plethora of reanimated corpses," Dr. Stone said as she led the teen into the lab and ushered him towards the decontamination showers. "Victor, you better decontaminate, too, just to be safe."

"I already ran a full system check and scan, I'm good, Mom."

"Don't argue with me, Victor Stone. You'll decontaminate and flush your systems after Sage's washed and dressed."

"Yes, Mom." Victor said and went to the supplies closet to dig out some patient scrubs for their guest. His cybernetic eye determined Sage's size and knew anything he had would look ridiculous on the guy. As he ducked into the room, he got a ping on his communication system. He accepted the call and grinned. "So, how long are you grounded for?"

Courtney's groan told him it was long enough. He didn't bother to hide his amusement.

"Yeah, I get the feeling I'll wake up with a few combat systems blocked," he said.

" _Pat didn't even say anything to me. He just gave me a look and then disappeared into the garage!_ " Courtney complained. " _I think I like it better when he yells, because then I know what he's feeling. Mom was the one who acted as the judge, jury and executioner. I'm officially on Trick-or-Treat duty._ "

"Handing out candy?"

" _Worse. Mike's going as Toto. Guess who gets to be Dorothy?_ "

"Ouch," Victor said, a chuckle escaping him. "Are they making you dye your hair or wear a wig?"

" _That's yet to be decided_ ," she said. He heard her groan again and the protest of bedsprings as she flopped back onto her mattress. " _Maybe Sage should've let me take that hit._ "

"That's not funny, Courtney," he said, sombering. He would never be able to forgive himself if he'd left her to die. He leaned against the supplies closet doorway and crossed his arms. "You proved to the city that you're the heroine we need. That's more than I can say."

" _Vic, c'mon, you're not blaming yourself are you? You didn't know I couldn't fly and I didn't tell you. Water under the bridge,_ " she said. " _Besides, you got most of the clean up done and got to share some spotlight with Channel Five._ "

"Oh, god, don't remind me," Victor said, covering his face. The reporter for News Channel 5 was a determined, fast-talking man that went by the name of Steven Stanhope. He was short, prematurely balding, and had a slight Irish accent that often made Vic think of a leprechaun.

" _Admit it, he made you look good!_ "

"Girl, he can make a step-stool look good!" He argued.

"Victor!" Dr. Stone's voice called. He muted his mic so as not to blow out his friend's ear. "Where are those clothes!"

"Had to dig a bit, Mom!" He called back. He unmuted and said to Courtney, "Gotta go. I was supposed to get Sage some clothes for after his shower. Did you know he's been living in the woods for the past few weeks?"

" _That would explain a lot. So, gonna dress him up in the onesie?_ "

"Never should've showed you my 'before' pictures," Victor said while he grabbed up some green scrubs. "The guy saved our lives, I'll let him be for now and humiliate him next week."

" _Aw, aren't you just the sweetest? Be sure to get some pics for me,_ " Courtney said. He heard her smirk over the line.

"You've got the internet, use it."

" _You're no fun._ "

"Goodbye, _Dorothy_."

" _Later, Vic!_ "

* * *

 **Jump City, October 31st, 2010**

Cyborg and his mother Dr. Stone were very kind and accommodating. Dr. Stone was strict and stern, but didn't press him for too much information or try to dissect him as he was worried she would. She did give him a few shots, though.

"Vaccines to keep you healthy," she told him. Sure they were, and Naruto was from the moon. Stupid needles aside, they were good people. Victor had showed him around the facility that he called home. It was, in a word, _massive_. Easily three times larger than the cave within Mt. Justice, the S.T.A.R. Labs facility was dug miles underground, with a large, single-floor living area above the surface.

The sub-floors had rooms dedicated to scientific research, most of it off-limits for Naruto, which he was fine with,

Still, though...

 _So many needles,_ Naruto thought with a shiver as he stepped out of the high-tech shower. He'd spent a good portion of the day training, and had only stopped when Victor came in to kick him out of the gym, telling him that he worked too hard. After that came another physical with another dozen needles with more of those so-called "vaccines".

Personally, Naruto thought that Dr. Stone just liked seeing the holes seal up.

" _Stop being so dramatic,_ " Kurama said to him. " _It's not like that's the worst thing that punctured your flesh._ "

Chirps of lightning and red eyes with three tomoe within them flashed to the forefront of Naruto's mind. He shivered again and pulled on the boxers and green scrub pants that he'd set aside earlier. His fishnet-shirt settled against his skin right as there was a knock at the door.

"Yeah?" He asked, opening the door. Victor's grinning face caught him a bit off guard.

"Come on," Vic said. He held up three rectangles with various creatures on them and waved them back and forth. "Courtney's bringing the tiny terror over any second. I got us movies for days!"

"We're going to watch them for a few days?" Naruto asked.

"N-No," Victor's grin faltered. "It's a figure of speech, man."

"Oh. Weird, never heard it before," he said. He stepped out of the bathroom and followed the larger teen to the center room. He interlaced his hands behind his head, casually reaching out and asking The Green if it needed him. It was quiet, so he guessed not.

"So, I haven't wanted to pry, but I've been wondering, what rock did you crawl out of?" Victor asked. Naruto glanced at him.

"I'm from Happy Harbor." It wasn't technically a lie, but cross-dimensional beings were never seen as a good thing. So Wally used to tell him, anyway.

"You're from Rhode Island?" Victor arched a brow.

"Yep," he grinned. He held up his ring-bearing hand and it flashed accordingly. His smile fell a bit. "I, uh, used to be part of a team. Did something I wasn't proud of, so I had to leave."

"This thing you did," the cyborg stopped walking and leveled him with a look. "It wasn't...evil, was it?"

"Um, yes and no? It's-it's complicated. But, but, uh, no one died from it!" Naruto was quick to add. Victor's scrutinizing gaze remained for a minute before he shrugged.

"Alright."

"...That's it?"

"What? You said it wasn't evil. Dude, you saved my city. I'm going to give you the benefit of the doubt." The words caused Naruto to relaxe and a small smile spread across his face.

"Thanks, Victor."

"Besides, if you try anything now, I'll stop you with a bit of boo-yah!" The taller teen hopped into an exaggerated fighting stance and Naruto laughed.

"You haven't been able to stop yourself from being hip-tossed yet," he said, smirking. The few spars they had over the past two days showed that Sage could match Cyborg in strength. Cyborg wasn't too good at hand to hand, despite downloading all there is to know about something called Greco-Roman wrestling and Karate.

"Okay, first, I'm part machine and even I think that's cold," Victor said, putting a hand over the glowing center of his chest. He then held up two fingers. "Second, if you want to play that way, _you_ still can't beat me in _F-Thirty_!"

"Video games make no sense!" Naruto groaned and threw his arms in the air. "First Wally with his Netflix cartoons and now you and your video games! Why are you all so enamored with television accessories?"

"Because they're awesome? Duh," Victor said. He opened his mouth to say more when there was a trill of bells, alerting them that someone at the door. He closed his mouth and looked back down at the younger blond. "Truce?"

"Yeah, I guess ...for now," Naruto said. They shared a grin of rivalry before the taller of the two ran off to get the door. He let his hands intertwine behind his head again and leisurely followed behind.

"...I needed to get as _far_ away from Kansas as I could, so did what any teenage girl would do in that situation: I snuck out," he heard Stargirl say.

When Naruto rounded the corner, his greeting died on his lips. She was out of her costume and in a checkered dress, frilled socks, and glittering ruby slippers. There was a bag in one hand and her staff in the other. The makeup made her look like a noblewoman that he'd seen when travelling or on missions back home.

Despite the scowl on her face, she looked very cute.

"Well, I bet you two looked _so_ precious," Victor said, playfully gushing.

"Cyborg, so help me, I will _dismantle_ you." Stargirl growled. She pushed past him as he chuckled at her expense and stormed into the facility. Since she was glaring as hard as she could into the floor to the point that she didn't notice him, Naruto stepped out of her way. He looked back at Victor with an arched brow and gestured at her with a thumb thrown over his shoulder.

"She seemed a bit angry."

"Ah, she's fine. Just embarrassed that she rushed out without thinking about changing first," Victor said, waving his hand. "Let her change and cool off. In the meantime, I'll show you just how awesome video games can be."

A foreboding chill went up Naruto's spine and he groaned.

* * *

After a few humiliating defeats, Naruto got to put the controller down when Stargirl finally came out of the bathroom. She was dressed in her costume, the hero one, as she walked into the room with her eyes closed. Her hair looked a bit different, as if it were just washed.

"Man, I needed that! Remind me to thank your Mom for getting shampoo - who are you?" She asked, coming to a stop at the arm of the couch. It took Naruto a minute to realize it, but her eyes were locked on him. When it clicked that she was talking to him, he arched a brow and then held up his ring. Her cheeks darkened. "S-Sage?"

"Yeah?" He asked slowly, not sure why she was so surprised. She continued to stare and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Anyone ever tell you it's not polite to stare?"

"You're not my Mom," she snapped, apparently out of whatever thoughts she'd been lost in. Victor snorted and Naruto stared at her owlishly, wondering what brought on that comparison. She crossed her arms and looked at the screen. "Is it the new millennium or something on your world?"

"What?" He asked. Victor's elbow nudged his side.

"She's asking about your mesh, dude."

"It's not-! Ugh, I hate repeating myself, 'ttebayo," Naruto groaned into his hand. He looked back at Stargirl, who was pointedly avoiding looking in his direction. "Look, I'm not an alien. I'm not a Green Lantern, I'm an Agent of The Green, the Life-Force that governs all plant life. I just happen to use a ring and make constructs like Green Lanterns do."

"He's also from Rhode Island," Victor said. Stargirl still looked away and Cyborg rolled his human eye. "C'mon, Courtney, take off the mask and relax. Don't think I won't rat you out."

"Yeah, thanks, Victor. So much for a secret identity," Stargirl, or rather, Courtney said. She reached up and pulled down the mask so that it bundled around her neck.

 _Whoa, and I thought she was cute before,_ Naruto thought.

" _It would appear that someone's hormones are acting up._ " Kurama snorted.

 _Screw off! I wasn't much better around Artemis or Megan, and Megan was dating Superboy!_

" _You say that like I should care about your meatbag friends and their mating rituals._ "

 _I - You - ...Shut up._

"Hello?" A hand waved in front of his face, drawing him from his inner conversation with a blink. Courtney let her hand fall to her hip and arched a brow. "Talking to the voices in your head again?"

"Yes. No, er...It's complicated," he said, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry, The Green and The Red have a habit of making small talk."

" _Lying on the first date won't help you get in her pants,_ " The Voice taunted. He groaned again, but ignored the voice. It wasn't worth the headache.

"That must be annoying," Victor said. He grinned. "I know what'll cheer you up. A good ol' fashioned horror movie night!"

"Now we're talking!" Courtney said. She jumped into the seat on Naruto's left, which left little space between them. As she set her staff against the arm of the couch, he scooted a bit to give them a bit more space. He was just grateful that it was such a large couch, otherwise he would've gotten an odd look from Victor.

"Alright, since he seems to have come from beneath a boulder," the cyborg in question said, standing and holding the three options up. "You choose, Court. We have the pants-wetting horror flick of last year, _Wicked Scary_ ; the gore-filled, cringeworthy _Splatterhouse_ ; or the so bad it's good cult classic, _Man-Thing_."

Upon hearing the titles, Naruto cocked his head to the side.

"The _Man-Thing_?" He asked. "That's a movie?"

"It's a cult classic!" Victor reiterated. "The monster of a South Floridian swamp goes around protecting his land, killing a bunch of greedy bad guys as he does!"

"Sounds like a rip-off of The Swamp-Thing, I don't know how he'd feel about that," he said and crossed his arms. He wondered how the Avatar of The Green would possibly react to a film like this. He snorted, knowing the Avatar of The Green he'd probably take it as a compliment.

"The Swamp Thing?" Courtney and Victor shared a look before they looked back at him and asked, "I thought he was a myth?"

"If he's a myth, then call me one, too. He's the one that taught me about The Green," Naruto said. They continued to stare at him and he rolled his eyes. "Believe me, that's not the strangest thing I could tell you, -ttebayo."

"Uh-huh, sure." Courtney rolled her eyes.

"At the start of the month, I came here with a few other heroes to save a young alien girl from intergalactic slavers," Naruto said. Oblivious to their disbelief, he pursed his lips and rubbed his chin. "I wonder how Kori's holding up. Hope she's okay."

"You're really not kidding about this are you?" Courtney asked.

"You'll know when I'm joking," he said with a shrug. His hands interlocked behind his head. "Are we going to watch a movie or what? I could be training right now."

"You need a hobby," Victor said.

"Training is my hobby." He paused and tilted his head. "Well, that and ramen tasting."

"Ramen?" Courtney asked. A mechanical hand clapped over Naruto's mouth before he could say anything.

"Don't get him started. Trust me. He and my mom argued about it all day yesterday," Victor said. He held the movies out. "He's got a point though. Pick a movie before your folks come looking for you."

" _Splatterhouse_ ," she said after a moment of thought. Victor nodded and prepared the film, and Naruto settled in for what he would learn to be called a "80's Cheese"-filled night. There was a lot of jokes thrown between the two teens that flew over his head, due to a cultural history he'd yet to catch up on, but he still had fun.

It was also important to note that Kurama absolutely _loved_ the Slasher Film genre, and demanded they watch more in their spare time.

* * *

 **Jump City, November 3rd, 2010**

The Green loved Jump City. That's the only reason Naruto could find that would explain why he'd felt no need to leave. It was a rarity in the country, having parks that weren't uprooted or destroyed on a daily basis, and now had a large amount of greenery that surrounded its borders. Though, the cause of that greenery may also be reason enough for him to stay. Who knew when The Rot would try to revive its Avatar again? It was a comfortable excuse to remain.

The Stone's island home was a pretty nice feature, too.

Today, however, they were away from the S.T.A.R. Labs building. Victor and his mother had argued over something earlier, but Naruto was far too tired to care; he had long ago accepted the fact that he would never be a chipper morning person.

Hence why he was a bit bitey when Victor shoved a large gold and blue jersey over his head, but the cyborg forgave him easily enough; the pinky digit was replaced in record time. The cyborg rushed through the facility while Naruto ate his breakfast and processed whatever information The Green decided to relay to him. By the time he was 'awake', he found himself back on the mainland, being guided by Victor to sit on an uncomfortable metal bench.

"Uh, did I miss something?" Naruto asked, looking around and finding most of the other people wearing regalia like the jersey he wore. Across a large field of chalk-covered grass were more people, although they'd been dressed in green and white colors. On the field were a bunch of men, half wearing gold and blue, the other half in white and green.

"Football-l-l!" Victor cheered, punching the air with both fists. People around him had similar reactions. The large teen had a blue hoodie on, a golden spring with fists and large comical eyes plastered on the center of his chest. He grinned down at the blond. "This is the greatest sport in the country, I used to play before...y'know. This."

He gestured to his cybernetic eye and Naruto smiled.

Victor had been trying to be inclusive, to help Naruto understand the world - particularly this corner of the world. Video games weren't knew, but the mechanics of cars and technical jargon of computers that he was sure _Robin_ would have a hard time following didn't click with the blond's thick skull. It was touching that the teen wanted to help him understand, and he would never refuse an extended olive branch.

"Then I guess you're the best guy to teach me about it," he said. A gleam appeared in Victor's human eye, and he excitedly dove into the sport's history, rules and regulations. Fifteen minutes passed before Naruto was saved from Victor's enthusiasm. Victor was halfway through the explanation of an average offensive play when they were joined by Courtney and her stepfather, Patrick "Pat" Dugan.

"You're the one that saved their keisters, huh?" Pat asked, lowering his voice a bit as he shook Naruto's hand. Pat Dugan was a large man, and not in the rotund fashion. He had a sense of wisdom to him, the same sort that Jiraiya had, that Kakashi had. It was a wisdom of combat, of _war_.

"They were doing fine, I just stepped in to deal with Cyrus. It's sort of my job, -ttebayo," Naruto said. Pat chuckled and took his hand back. He sat down on the girl's other side, sandwiching his stepdaughter between them. Something, Naruto noted, did little to improve the slightly annoyed look that was on her face.

"Courtney tells me that you're a Green Lantern?" Pat asked, a twinkle of amusement in his eye.

"Ugh," Naruto dropped his head into his hands. Victor and Courtney laughed while the whiskered blond gave the older man a tired look. "I'm _different_ , but yeah. Sure. Whatever! I don't care anymore."

" _Yes you do!_ " The Voice teased. Naruto would've glared at it, had he known A) what it looked like and B) where it was coming from.

"Then," Courtney began, "You're not an alien?"

"No."

"You're human?"

"Last I checked."

"From Rhode Island?"

"It's where I lived after I was booted out of the swamp, -ttebayo."

"With the Swamp-Thing." Both she and her stepfather were giving him an incredulous smirk. He rose a brow in challenge.

"You guys do remember that I made a bunch of _trees_ come out of the ground, right?"

"Alright, so maybe you did meet the Swamp Thing," Courtney said with a shrug. "What did you do before that?"

"Before what?"

"Before living in a swamp?"

"Oh. I trained to be a ninja."

"...I can't tell if you're being serious or not," she said, oblivious to the way Pat's eyes had narrowed. Naruto noticed, but chose not to comment. Instead, he plastered a grin on his face.

"Thus proving my point," he said.

"That doesn't prove anything," she huffed.

"Of course it does!" he argued. "How do you think I could make clones? Or use the Rasengan?"

"Those are ninja tricks? I thought ninja were supposed to be silent assassins, not WMDs."

"lling."I don't know what that means."

"What what means?" Victor asked, sitting back down. He now had a bag of popcorn. Naruto had to do a double take.

 _When did he-?_

" _While you were speaking with the meatbag, the half-meatbag went and got food,_ " Kurama said.

 _Oh, thanks_. "WMD. What does that...Ah!" His cheeks burned and looked away from his fellow blond. He didn't think she'd ever call him that. How would she even _know_ that? "Wow, uh, I'm...I'm flattered, but-"

"W-What are you even thinking about?" Her flustered response to his flustered response served as a good source of amusement for the other two members of their group.

"Well, you clearly meant-" Naruto was cut off when the ground began to shake.

The field began to collapse, most of the visiting Coast City Sharks falling with the ground into a pit. The Jump City Springers soon fell to the same fate, and before long, the entire football field was rubble. People screamed.

From the devastation rose a dark figure. Clad in a formfitting black and purple uniform was a man. On his head was a red helmet shaped like a star. A large replication of the man appeared behind him.

"People of Jump City!" The man shouted, his voice enhanced through the massive doppleganger. "I am Evil Star, and you will all bow to me!"

"Oh, no he didn't just say that!" Victor growled, as he pulled off his hoodie. He let it drop to the ground and his arm shifted into a cannon. "He did not!"

"Cyborg get the people out of here, I'll be right back!" Courtney said as she pushed through the frightened crowd to get to somewhere concealed. Pat, likewise, slipped through the crowd after her. Victor forced his arm to shift back and began to usher people to safety, his towering form standing out like a beacon in the night.

Naruto, like minded, brandished his ring and changed into his Sage attire with a green flash. The crowd saw this and parted out of his way as the Agent of The Green rose into the air. People on both sides of the field began to cheer.

"Hey jackass!" He pointed his finger at the star masked man. "You made a big mistake coming here."

"Yet another Green Lantern," Evil Star sneered. He smirked. "Are you earthlings so weak that you require _four_ Green Lanterns?"

"What. Did you. Just call me?" Naruto asked through gritted teeth. He really didn't think that he'd get as annoyed as he did, but

" _Called it!_ " The Voice jeered.

"Run along, boy. I won't mind ripping that ring off your severed hand," Evil Star said. His condescending attitude hit the right buttons to get the blond angry.

"Well," Naruto said as he rolled his neck from one side to the other. The cracks filled the air and he brought his arms up in a ready stance. "I'm going to enjoy this far more than I should."

"And he has spirit!" the villain laughed. His smirk remained on his face. "I will always be amazed by how fast the young die."

"Far more than I should," Naruto said again, mostly to himself.

The two stared each other down, the world going mute around them, before the massive Evil Star's hand rocketed up in a smack. Naruto shot across the air and smashed into the stadium billboard. The people cried out in horror and Evil Star let his head rear back as he laughed.

"All bark and no bite! How pathetically typical of the Green Lantern Corps," he said. His smirk fell into a confused frown when the body indented in the billboard was suddenly enveloped in smoke and a splintered log fell onto the ground.

"What?" The villain rubbed his eyes and stared at the spot. "I didn't think humans were _that_ fragile. Or made of wood."

"Oi, jackass!" Evil Star turned around, only to have a massive green hand swat him like a fly right where he had sent the teen. Naruto grinned and cracked his knuckles as their constructs dispelled. "Get turbed!"

"Boy…" Evil Star growled as he got back to his feet. Energy built around his hands as he floated into the sky. "I will eviscerate you."

"You're welcome to try," Naruto said. He sidestepped the sharp construct that engulfed Evil Star's hand. A barrage of jabs followed, each an attempted stab that Naruto avoided. "Whoa! Careful there, -ttebayo! You almost got me with that one!"

"Is it a necessary requirement for every Green Lantern to be as obnoxious as you are?" Evil Star asked around his stabs.

"Okay, that does it, asshole!" Naruto caught the next stab in his hand. He pulled Evil Star in close and glared into the man's whited eyes. He brought his fist back. "I'm not a Green Lantern! The name's Sage!"

The punch that followed sent Evil Star rocketing towards the ground. The villain's descent was stopped abruptly by a white stream of energy that caught him around the waist. Evil Star gasped as the air was knocked from his lungs. He looked up to see a blonde girl clad in a starred costume holding the staff that had caught him.

"Hi, we haven't met yet," she said. "I'm Stargirl. You just attacked my city."

"Your city?" Evil Star repeated. "What sort of city has two heroes?"

"Well, about that." Stargirl spun in the air and whipped Evil Star towards the Jump City bleachers. Before he could hit them, Cyborg lifted his cannon-shaped arm and delivered a massive blast to the villain's face. The shot knocked him back into the air.

"That's for my stadium, jerk!" Cyborg called after the flying villain while the people cheered.

Evil Star caught himself in the air and glared down at the cyborg. He lifted his hand, prepared to fire another round, when Naruto spoke from behind him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," he said. Evil Star jumped and spun around.

"Whoa, jeezus! Remind me to put a bell on your corpse," the villain grumbled. He scowled at Naruto, purple energy gathering around his hand. "What's wrong? Can't fight your own battles, boy?"

"Not just my battle," Naruto said. He pointed up and Evil Star followed his gaze. Stargirl came flying in and delivered a heavy smack with her staff. They watched the villain shoot to the ground and hit the rubble he caused. Naruto turned and nodded at the girl. "Nice one."

"It's a terribly well balanced staff," Courtney said, smiling at the weapon. "If it was too top-heavy, I'd lose power on the swing."

"I'll take your word for it," he said. He watched the helmeted villain get back to his feet and cringed when Victor dropped an elbow down onto the man's back. He knew from experience how painful Cyborg's strikes could be, but didn't want to know what a metal joint being drilled into his spine felt like. His attention went to the edge of the field, where people had gathered to help the players.

"We need to end this," he murmured. A hard smack followed by a scream drew his gaze back to where Victor had been. When he found the half-machine man, Victor was falling back towards the earth. Stargirl rushed off to his aid, leaving the Agent of the Green alone to face down the rising villain.

" _Boy_ , you've exhausted my patience," Evil Star growled.

" _He calls that a growl?_ " Kurama mocked. " _I've had gas that's sounded more intimidating._ "

"I tend to do that." Naruto shrugged. He held his hands up and gestured in. "What'cha gonna do about it?"

"Oh, I'll show you what I'll do," Evil Star said. His fist gained a shell of light around it and he rushed the blond hero. "I will extinguish your fire with one hit!"

"Wow, my granny said something like that once," Naruto said. He held his hand out and caught the villains fist. He concealed a cringe - there was something about the energy that Evil Star gave off that The Green did _not_ like - and basked in the masked villain's look of shock. He grinned. "Yeah, not as impressive. Granny actually made me move when she hit me."

"Impudent little-! I will murder you!" Evil Star's other fist shot out and he caught that one, too. He tightened his grip on the villain's hands. He threw Evil Star's hands out to either side and then grabbed the man by his head. Naruto reared his head back and then flung it forward. He hovered, dazed for just a moment, and Evil Star was knocked back, but remained in the air.

"Did...Did you just _headbutt_ me?" The villain asked while he rubbed the new dent in his helmet.

"Yeah. I've really got to stop doing that," Naruto said mostly to himself. He shook off the remnants of the ringing bells and rushed the villain. He extended his arm and caught Evil Star around the neck, before flying away from the civilians.

"Let's take the scenic route!" Naruto said to his captive.

"Release me, boy!" The villain shouted in outrage.

"Impress you? I don't know why you'd want that, but, okay!" He grinned and began to spin them. As they spun and flew, he shifted his grip to resemble that of the Primary Lotus, pinning the villain's arms to his sides. When The Green told him they were outside of city limits, he angled them towards the ground.

"Let! Me! Go!" Evil Star shouted.

"Don't worry, I won't let go!" Naruto closed his eyes and hoped that he did this right. Just before they hit the ground, he shouted out, "Primary Lotus!"

The dirt and sand that was knocked into the air would be enough to refill the football field five times over.

With a groan, Naruto pushed Evil Star off of his body and rolled to his hands and knees. He stumbled getting back to his feet, but straightened out and put a hand on his slightly aching head. His attention went to the unmoving man and after a quick pulse check, he was relieved to note that the man was alive.

"Phew! Good thing I let go." He chuckled and then grimaced. His hands went back to his head and his eyes closed. "Ow, Bushy-brow, how did you do that every time?"

"...Die."

That was all the warning that he would get before Evil Star leapt from the ground and delivered a brutal, organ-rearranging uppercut to his gut. Naruto was knocked off of his feet and landed on his ass. After he rolled onto his hands and knees, a cough of blood burst from his lips, followed by a gasp for air.

"Wow, I actually felt that one," he said once he could breathe again. The weak chuckle was followed by a pained groan. Evil Star snarled and punt kicked him in the head, knocking him back down. The villain, clearly all energy power and not endurance based, panted.

"If it weren't for your cheek, I might miss you once your dead," Evil Star snarled. He kicked Naruto in the gut, knocking him to the side by a few feet.

"Aww, I feel all warm and fuzzy, now." Naruto coughed again and pushed himself to his hands and feet. He grinned at the villain and raised his fists. "That all you got?"

"Do you _ever_ stay down?" Evil Star asked. More purple light gathered around his form.

"Not really," he said. "But you would _not_ believe how many people ask me that, -ttebayo."

"I admire your tenacity. You've lasted longer than the other Lanterns I have faced," Evil Star said. Then, a sickening snap filled the air. Followed by another. Evil Star's labored breaths evened out and within seconds, the light dimmed. Evil Star brushed off his shoulders and smirked at the dumbfounded teen. "Did you really believe I was so weak to be done in by children?"

"Buddy, you don't want to know what I thought about you," Naruto said. He closed his eyes as Natural Energy began to fill and heal his injuries. He chuckled. "However, I will admit. You know how to dish out a punch."

"It's strange, having an enemy I so dearly want dead, but actually enjoy bantering with," Evil Star said. His hands started to glow again and he grinned. "I now know why The Rogues are so enamored with their Streak."

"I think you mean Flash."

"Shut up and die," Evil Star said. He threw his hands in front of him, releasing a large stream of violet-white that Naruto matched with a beam of green. They were locked in a stalemate, neither one side gaining or losing ground. Evil Star grit his teeth. "Your ring does not radiate the same energies of a Green Lantern!"

"Did you _just_ notice that?" The Green's Lantern asked, amused. He glanced behind the villain and his grin grew just slightly. "I told you before, the name is Sage. I'm _not_ a Green Lantern."

"He's one of us."

Evil Star glanced behind him, but he wasn't able to move in time to avoid the blasts that hit his back. The pain drew his attention away from the stalemate, and Naruto poured more into his beam, overwhelming the violet-white energy. Evil Star was enveloped by the full power of sonic, cosmic and The Green. The collision of the energies caused a small explosion that forced the teens to cover their eyes.

When they could see through the smoke, they found Evil Star laid out in the center of a small, black-ringed crater. His body was smoking, his helmet off to reveal his eyes were rolled into his head, and his chest heaved the barest amount to show life.

"I think that calls for a 'Booyah!'" Victor said as his cannon shifted back into his hand. He grinned at them, which both Naruto and Courtney returned fully. They glanced down at their unconscious foe and shared an uncertain look with each other.

"So, what now?" Courtney asked. "JCPD can't hold this guy. He goes head to head with Green Lanterns."

"Hey." Naruto frowned.

"That's a compliment."

"...Not a Green Lantern, 'ttebayo." He grumbled.

"Well, if you don't want him, I'll gladly take him off your hands," said a familiar voice from above.

* * *

 **AN: Wow, this one's longer than average. Next time, we revisit a bit of canon, with a twist.**

 **Y'all know what to do!**

 **REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: Okay, so here's sort of a blend between my previous works. And this time, I'm not going it alone.**

 **Co-Written by Engineer4Ever**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own** _ **Naruto**_ **or** _ **Young Justice**_ **!**

 **Rise of the Titans**

 **10: Phenomenon**

* * *

 **Jump City, November 3rd, 2010**

Naruto, Victor and Courtney looked up to see Hal Lantern descending down in a gentle glide. He landed and was joined by the winged heroes Hawkman and Hawkwoman. The Green Lantern had a small grin on his face.

"Glad to see you're staying busy, kid," he said. Naruto offered a small grin of his own.

"Nice to see you, too," he said. His grin widened a fraction of an inch when he added, " _Hal_."

"I told you not to use my name!" Hal's annoyance was genuine, but there was a small amount of amusement that radiated from him.

"Riiight, _Hal_ Lantern." Naruto winked at him. Hal shook his head and then gestured to his winged associates.

"I'm sure you're familiar with my friends, Hawkman and Hawkwoman?" he asked. The teens nodded. Victor and Courtney straightened up while Naruto tilted his head.

"How do your wings work? Are they even real?" Instead of answering, the Hawks looked at Hal.

"He's got a bit of a ...attitude," he said. Hawkwoman crossed her arms, leveling an amused smirk at Green Lantern.

"And you're _certain_ he's not a Green Lantern?" she asked.

"Ha-ha. Very funny, Shiera." Green Lantern scowled. Hawkman shook his head and stepped forward, holding his hand out to the blond boy. Naruto took it in a tentative shake.

"Superman and Batman told us a lot about you, Sage," he said. "Including why you left The Team. Before you worry, you should know that we approve of your actions, not for what happened, but for the reasons behind it. A Hawk can only fly with two wings, and a flock is not made of one bird."

"...That is probably the weirdest way I've ever heard someone say that you should stick by your friends' sides," Naruto said as he took his hand back. He ignored the inquisitive stares that Courtney and Victor were sending his way. Instead, he mimicked his fellow green-clad hero and gestured to them. "These are my friends Cyborg and-"

"Stargirl. We've been keeping an eye on them," Hawkwoman said. She shook the teens' hands, lingering on Courtney with a small grin. "The League is always looking for more members and Diana has been pushing those cursed with the Y-genome to think about adding more females to the roster."

"O-Oh! Uh, wow, thanks," Courtney said, flushing behind her cowl. As Hawkwoman turned to address Naruto again, she saw Victor give Courtney a small grin.

"Sage," Hawkwoman drew the young hero's gaze back to her. "Despite your actions and Batman's account of what transpired, you are also being considered for a second chance with The Team."

"Well, thanks for the offer, but...I go where The Green tells me to, not The League," Naruto said. He glanced at Victor and Courtney before looking back at the three Leaguers. "If you need a hand, I'll be in Jump City."

"I can understand that. Things are starting to get interesting here," Hal said, stepping forward and crossing his arms as he stared down at Evil Star. "How in the Hell did he get out of his cell on Oa?"

"He didn't say," Victor said. He crossed his arms and glared down at the villain. "All we know is that he demolished our football field and has a problem with the Green Lanterns."

"Speaking of, we really have to work on this thing where I'm mistaken for you guys, dattebayo," Naruto said sourly. He glowered at the Lantern and crossed his arms. "The Green was here first and had champions way before you guys came to Earth."

"Take it up with The Guardians, kid."

"Oh, trust me. I will!"

"Uh-huh." Hal gave the boy a crooked grin and put Evil Star into a green bubble. "Well, I have to go make an intergalactic delivery. Hawkman, Hawkwoman, tell John?"

"Sure. We'll inform him at the meeting." Hawkman nodded. The Green Lantern took off in a stream of light and the winged warrior looked back at the three heroes. "Whether you do or don't join the League, you three are heroes and as such are allies. If there's anything you need, anything at all, don't hesitate to ask."

"...Now that you mention it," Naruto said. He rubbed his chin. "There is one thing I'd like to ask."

"We've been warned about your ramen addiction," Hawkwoman said.

 _Dammit, Wally._ "I wasn't going to ask that," he said. Not a single person present believed him, judging by their skeptical looks. Ignoring their lack of faith, he continued, "Koriand'r, the Tamaranean. Could you tell her where I am? Maybe set up a way to communicate with The Team?"

The Hawks shared an uncertain look before Hawkman put a hand on Naruto's shoulder.

"The wounds, while bandaged, are still healing, my friend," he said. Naruto nodded and tried not to let his disappointment show. Hawkman squeezed Naruto's shoulder. "Worry not, young Sage. I swear to you that we shall watch out for young Starfire, as if she were our own."

"Starfire?" Victor repeated. Courtney elbowed him.

"Thank you, Hawkman." Naruto said, a sincere smile on his face. Hawkman smiled and retracted his hand. He and his wife removed their helmets. Both were fair-skinned, Hawkman had golden blond hair and Hawkwoman had light auburn. Both of them had blue eyes.

"In this moment, I share a small trust with my new allies. The people call me Hawkman, but my friends call me Carter," Carter said. He tucked his helmet under his arm and reached out with his hand again. "Carter Hall."

"And I am Shiera Hall," Shiera said, smiling as she watched her husband shake hands with the three youths. Once the pleasantries were finished, they donned their helmets again and spread their wings.

"Now, last I checked there were people in need of aid," Hawkman said. He and Hawkwoman took off, their wings causing a small cloud of dust to shoot up.

Courtney and Victor, once they were free of their coughing fit, straightened up and shared grins with each other. Two Justice League members had willingly offered up their identities and friendship. Naruto watched with a smile as it dawned on them.

"Dude," Victor said. "We met the Green Lantern and The Hawks."

"Yeah." Courtney nodded.

"The Justice League knows about us."

"Yeah."

"We are going places, baby!" Victor pumped his fists in the air. "Booyah!"

"First place we should be going is back to the field," Naruto said. He felt a bit bad to interrupt the moment, but duty should come first. They should've gone back to Jump once Hal took Evil Star away, but hindsight is 20/20. He conjured a platform for Victor to stand on and then, with Courtney shooting off ahead of them, flew back to Jump City.

His city.

 _Jump City, Home of The Sage._ Naruto grinned. He liked the sound of that.

* * *

 **Jump City, November 5th, 2010**

"MOM!"

The horrified shout jarred Naruto from his meditation. He would've been annoyed by Victor's shout, but seeing as he'd been staying with the Stones for almost a week, he figured it's been long enough for him to sort of glean what was and what wasn't normal behavior for the mother and son duo. The horrified cry was not normal, and he knew something was wrong.

It also helped that The Green had released a strangled cry of pain and Kurama roared with a fury.

"What happened?" he asked as soon as he slid into the dining room. Victor was tapping the side of his head, various scans of light emitting from his cybernetic eye.

"One second I was talking to my mom, the next she vanished," he said. When the light show stopped, he cursed and slammed his fists on the table. "I'm not picking up _any_ residual energy!"

"Can she teleport?" Naruto asked, enveloping himself in The Green's energy and going to Sage Mode. He immediately dropped Sage Mode, ran to the sink and puked. He groaned and braced himself against the countertop. "I can _and_ I can't sense her. That doesn't make sense...That shouldn't be possible! Oh, Kami, someone has disturbed The Green in the worst way."

"Damn it, this isn't a joke! What if a supervillain took her? So, stupid! I have enemies now!" Victor panicked as he continued to ramble off suspects. Naruto, recovering from his disorienting experience, walked over and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Vic!" He leveled Victor with a determined stare when the cyborg glared at him. "We'll find her, but you need to _calm_ _down_. Winding yourself up is not going to help the situation, trust me, I know. We should call-"

A sudden ringing interrupted him.

"It's Courtney." Victor muttered.

"...Dang, she's good, 'ttebayo," Naruto said. Victor nodded and then took a deep breath to forcibly relax.

"I'll put her on speaker," he said. He walked over to the wall and put his hand against it. His cybernetic eye shone blue before Courtney's panicked voice broke through, accompanied by cries of children in the background.

" _Guys!_ " she sounded relieved." _I need your help! Mom and Pat are gone! Right when we were having a late lunch at Spacey's. If it weren't for senior pass, I don't...Michael would've been alone. I've got like six kids here crying for their parents. I-I need surveillance, satellite photos, anything Vic!_ "

"Courtney, my Mom's gone, too," Victor said, sharing a concerned look with Naruto.

" _Shit, Vic, I - no, Michael, shh. It's okay, it's okay._ " The child's cries continued in the background. A sudden crash made the two jump and the children's screams became louder. " _Oh, fu-Sage, you need to get out there and run damage control. Vic, meet me at Spacey's and we'll swing over to the schools._ "

"We're on it, 'ttebayo!" Naruto said. He suited up, but kept out of Sage Mode, and accompanied Victor to the garage.

"I don't like this. Not at all," Victor said as he got in the hovercar he and his mom designed.

"Neither do I," Naruto said. He caught the device tossed to him and arched a brow. "What's this for?"

"Put it in your ear and keep in touch," Victor said, and waited until Naruto did before he nodded. "Be careful, Sage. We don't know what we're up against."

"You do the same. I'll make some clones to help once we figure out what's going on," he said. Cyborg revved up the engine and zoomed off. Naruto hovered in the empty garage for a minute and set his jaw.

 _Be real nice if anyone could tell me what they know,_ he thought.

" _Wish I could, Naruto, but I'm as clueless as you normally are,_ " Kurama said. The Green gave him nothing. His eyes narrowed.

 _That's what I was afraid of._

* * *

The kids were gathered and taken to Jump City High School, where multiple seniors and juniors were preparing supplies, entertaining or caring for the younger children. Twenty minutes in, Naruto made thirty clones to cover portions of the city, keeping an eye out for any other youths in trouble (or trying to cause it) while he himself went to help his friends. He was assaulted with questions as soon as he entered the gym.

"What happened?" "Did someone do this?" "Where's my mom?" "Where's my daddy?"

"Hey!" A tall, athletic teen's voice echoed through the gymnasium. He had dark skin, short cropped hair and wore a red tracksuit, the jacket unzipped to reveal a yellow shirt with a white sun on it. The teen stood in front of Naruto with his arms crossed. "You guys heard Stone, no one knows what's going on, and we're trying to keep the other kids calm! Don't attack someone when they come in the door like that!"

The other kids began to drift away, grumbling or looking rather lost and afraid.

"They're just scared," Naruto said once the kids were gone. He smiled. "Thanks, though."

"Not a problem. The name's Jeff Jackson. Everyone calls me Jax," Jax said, offering his hand. Naruto took it and shook the hand.

"Sage."

"Stone said you'd be coming, he's over there with Courtney Whitmore." Jax pointed the two out. They were sitting off to the side on some bleachers, toddlers and a few older kids seated with them, presumably related to some of the younger children. A small TV was set up in front of them.

"Got it. Nice meeting you, Jax," Naruto said, smiling to the younger man. Jax smiled back.

"Hey, man, after what you did for our city? I'm the one who's stoked to meet you. If you ever need a hand," he said before jogging over to stop an argument between two other students. The blond continued to smile for a minute before he made his way over to his two friends.

"Baa, baa black sheep have you any wool?" A voice on the TV and some kids sang.

" _That's such a stupid question._ " Kurama grumbled. _"Of course it does. It's a sheep!"_

 _Not the point, Kurama._ Naruto thought.

As he neared, he could see Courtney was holding her brother close, her arms a fortress of protection around the toddler. Behind her, acting as a reassuring wall and holding a hand against the side of his head, Victor sat with a stoic look on his face. A look that said he was only partially aware of the world around him. Which is why Courtney was the one that noticed him first.

"Anything?" she asked. He shook his head.

"I've got clones scouring the city, but The Green's upset. Someone did this, but it wasn't near us," he said. He glanced around the gym, before looking back at her. "How're you holding up?"

"As well as anyone would be, I guess," she sighed. "There's some Seniors missing, and most of the Varsity Football Team were hospitalized by Evil Star, but we've got some volunteers at the hospital who say they're not in their rooms."

"Great. What's next?" he asked. A tugging at his legs made him look down. A young boy, around four or five years old, had taken hold of his pants. He looked up at him with wide eyes.

"Mr. Lantern?"

"Y-Yeah?" Naruto asked. He wasn't about to try and correct a kid. His ego would take a hit, but he'd be Green Lantern today.

"Will you find Mama and Daddy?"

The question made his heart clench and he did a quick survey of the gym again. These kids were all scared, and with good reason. Looking back down at the boy, he found him on the verge of tears.

"Of course we will, 'ttebayo!" Naruto said, plastering the biggest and brightest grin he could muster on his face. He pointed at his chest with his thumb. "I'm a hero after all. I'll find them in no time!"

He was used to being a bit loud and boisterous, but that's not what these kids needed. They need someone to tell them it was going to be okay, someone that was looked up to, but not unapproachable. A clown made people laugh, but a hero made people smile.

 _And it looks like I'm bad at it._ He thought somberly. The boy still looked worried and Naruto almost grimaced. Okay, so his fabulous boisterous personality wasn't working...maybe he could try something else.

"Hey, you guys want to see something cool?" He asked. The kids watched him as he floated back and put his hands into his signature hand seal. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

A poof of smoke engulfed his form, and when it cleared, five more clones had been brought into the world. The kids gasped in awe and a few clapped in delight. Naruto grabbed the shoulder of one clone and gave it a hard glance.

"Keep their minds busy, but don't do anything dangerous. No Flying, no wall-walking, and no Rasengans...Understand?"

"Right, Boss." The clone nodded before he went over and picked the worried kid up under his arms, hoisting him onto his shoulders. "C'mon, buddy! You want to see some more tricks?"

"Yeah!" The boy laughed as he and other kids began to crowd around the clones. Naruto took a seat next to Courtney and glanced at Victor. He looked back at the girl, but before he could ask her what the cyborg was up to, another voice spoke up.

"Courtney, I got those juice boxes from the Seven Eleven," a blonde girl said, her arms cradling three sealed bundles of apple juice. She set them down on the bleachers next to the secret hero, though that may be blown with Naruto and Vic seated as close to her as they were.

"Thanks, Tara," Courtney said. She adjusted her hold on the half-snoozing Michael and offered him up. "Can you keep an eye on Michael for me? I've got to talk to Vic and, uh, his friend."

Tara looked between the two blonds again as she took the toddler. A small grin spread on her face.

"Yeah, sure. C'mon, Mikey, let's go get some snacks," She said, walking off with the boy in her arms.

"She seemed...nice?" Naruto offered. His weak comment went ignored as his fellow blonde dropped her face into her hands.

"What are we going to do?" Courtney asked, "We can't leave to see if this is happening everywhere or-"

"It's happening everywhere," Victor said suddenly. Naruto and Courtney turned to look at him. "Spain, Russia, England, the social networks are exploding with questions, boasts and comments. And-Hello? Who is this?"

"What? Vic, what'd you find?" Courtney asked. He gave her a raised index finger and his organic eye narrowed. It blinked a few times before he gasped.

"Holy cow...It's...It's _Robin_."

"The Boy Wonder?" Courtney asked in awe.

"Traffic Light's talking to you?" Naruto asked. They leveled him with a look and he shrugged. "What? If he's on the internet then you can communicate, right?"

"Yeah...yeah! Sage, you're a genius!" The cyborg grinned.

" _A phrase you will never hear again._ " The Voice jeered. Naruto was getting better at ignoring it. Instead, he watched Victor's face go through various expressions as he silently communicated with the Boy Wonder. The last expression before Victor spoke again was bewilderment and confusion.

"Uh, he wants to talk to _you_ ," he said, looking at Naruto. "Now."

"Yeah, but you and I know that me and technology don't really get along," Naruto said. The last time he tried to use a computer, it exploded. And all he did was push the power button.

"I'll act as a go between. Courtney, it's going through our radio," Vic said. She nodded and put her hand to her ear, an act Naruto copied.

" _Okay, you're all set, Robin._ " Vic's voice broadcasted. There was a bickering over the other line. " _Uh, Robin?_ "

" _You do it, Kid Mouth!_ "

" _No, this was_ your _idea! I don't want to talk to_ him _!_ "

" _And you think I do?_ "

That hurt a lot more than Naruto thought it would. The looks he was getting from Courtney and Victor didn't help at all. Thankfully, the pain was ebbed by the inclusion of a new voice.

" _Friend Naruto!_ " The Tamaranean's cheerful greeting earned more incredulous and confused looks from Courtney and Victor. Koriand'r continued in an exuberant manner," _We need you to come to the cave most quickly!_ "

"Kori! Man, it's great to hear your voice, 'ttebayo. You guys have any idea what's going on?"

" _We do not know! The Batman and Giovanni Zatanna were speaking with us when they vanished!_ "

" _Starfire, let me speak with him._ "Naruto heard Aqualad say. " _Sage, we need every hand we can get. Finding the parents is second only to making sure people are safe. Come to the Cave._ "

"The Batcave?" Victor whispered to Courtney. She shushed him.

"I'll be there, but I'm bringing two others. Where's the nearest Zeta-Tube?" Naruto asked, ignoring the interruption.

" _Los Angeles, California. Why, gonna have Swamp Thing break that one, too?_ _Ow! Artemis!_ "

" _Shut up, you idiot._ "

"Alright, we'll be there as soon as possible. Sage, out." Naruto let his fingers drop and looked at his friends. They stared at him for a moment after the connection cut out.

"You never said anything about a Cave. A super hero cave, man. How could you not mention a super hero cave?" Victor hissed. "Is it the Batcave!? Have you been to the Batcave?!"

"And what's a Zeta-Tube?" Courtney asked. "Why is it in L.A.?"

"A) I didn't have time and it never came up. B) A Zeta-Tube is a teleporter thing. C), Courtney go suit up. The sooner we go, the sooner we find your parents," Naruto said. She huffed, a bit annoyed at the curt tone, but the questions could and likely would be answered later.

Courtney nodded and hurried out of the gymnasium, stopping by Tara and Jax to explain that she was heading out to make a quick supply run and to tell her dozing brother to behave.

"A Cave, dude."

"Cyborg, don't make me hurt you. I'm not in the mood."

"...I'll just make something cooler than a cave. Maybe a satellite? Nah, that sounds stupid."

* * *

 **Mount Justice, November 5th, 2010**

The flight to L.A. was done in record time, due to Cyborg's agreement to piggyback via green construct. They found the Zeta-Tube easily enough, and Victor entered himself and Courtney into the system. The reception upon entry to the Cave of Mount Justice was met with a cool and tense silence from all, but one.

"I am most excited to see you again, Friend Naruto!" The Tamaranean lifted Naruto into the air with a great big hug. Her arms squeezed around his sides and his ribs cracked in protest.

"Koriand'r!" The blond gasped. " _Air_!"

"Oh! Oops," She released him, "I am most sorry!"

"Well, I guess it's good to see that some things never change." Artemis muttered and shook her head.

Naruto ignored her comment and the glare Superboy had locked on him. He rubbed his sides and smiled at the Tamaranean. He patted her head affectionately before he gave The Team a weak grin.

"Hey, guys," he said. He rubbed the back of his neck and gestured to the two that accompanied him. "This is Stargirl and Cyborg. Stargirl, Cyborg, this is The Team."

"Already with a new group?" Kid Flash asked him. It held a lot of restrained anger and hinted at something more. Aqualad sent a frown to the boy before he stepped forward and put a hand on his chest, his face unreadable.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Aqualad, leader of The Team. Welcome," he said, offering his hand to Victor.

"Uh, Cyborg. Nice to meet you, too." The cybernetic teenager said. He shook the other boy's hand briefly.

"Stargirl," Courtney said, looking tense and nervous as she held her staff close. She shifted uneasily. "Uh, don't mean to bring up bad vibes, but can you guys _stop_ glaring? Don't we have enough problems?"

"She's...Got a point," Robin said, rubbing his arm and averting his gaze from Sage. Zatanna placed a hand on his shoulder. She smiled at the blonde.

"You're right, Stargirl," Zatanna said, before giving pointed glower to Kid Flash, Artemis and Superboy, the three who were leveling the unfriendly glares at Naruto. He nodded at her gratefully when their eyes met. Koriand'r floated around and shook the two newcomers' hands eagerly.

"It is most wonderful to make new friends! It is wonderful to meet Friend Naruto's new allies!" she said. Victor and Courtney looked from her to Naruto, who shrugged.

"What?"

"You've been making us call you your hero-name this whole time?" Courtney asked. She looked a bit hurt.

"You never asked after Gold was buried," he said.

"Buried Gold?" Kid Flash asked. "What, did you guys meet up to stop a pirate raid?"

"Zombie attack, actually," Naruto said with the straightest face he could muster. Kid Flash stared at him for another moment longer.

"I can't tell if you're serious or not."

"He's serious," Victor said. "A horde attacked Jump City on October 29th, led by Solomon Grundy, aka Cyrus Gold, the Avatar of The Rot."

"...What kind of name is Naruto?" Courtney asked.

"Seriously, that's what you're focusing on, 'ttebayo?" Naruto returned, a brow arched.

"I told you!" Kid Flash glared at Robin. "That news report was serious!"

"I thought it was one of those dumb advertisements for that stupid Walking Dead show!"

"I could have tested my zombie pl-"

"Enough!" Aqualad cut in. He stepped forward and put a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Sa- _Naruto_ , we need your help. Men and women around the world eighteen and up have gone missing. Zatanna and Robin suspect mystic involvement, but we can't investigate and leave the children unattended."

"Hold on, aren't you eighteen?" Artemis asked, giving a narrowed look to The Green's Lantern.

"Yeah? And?"

"Why aren't _you_ missing?"

"How am I supposed to know?"

"You're _eighteen_?" Courtney asked. Victor and Naruto leveled her with flat stares and she crossed her arms. "Oh, I'm not allowed to play surprised? This is doing a great job distracting me from my parents' disappearance."

"He's only been on Earth for three years," Miss Martian said to Artemis, oblivious of the looks Naruto received for the bomb that she casually dropped. "Maybe his chronological age and biological age don't align with whatever spell was cast."

"Other Dimensional beings do have the occasional immunity to magic," Zatanna threw in.

Naruto tried _really_ hard not to fidget under the stares from Victor and Courtney. He offered them a sheepish smile and gave a weak laugh.

"Surprise? I'm not from _this_ Earth..."

"We are having a _long_ talk about this later," Courtney said.

"Who are you, my mother?"

"Someone has to be." Artemis grumbled.

"Oi! What I did aside, what reason do you have to gang up on me, 'ttebayo?!"

"Girl Code." Artemis, Zatanna, Miss Martian and Courtney said.

"...You just made that up. They just made that up. Right?" Naruto asked, looking at Victor. The taller teen shrugged.

"It's real, dude," Kid Flash sighed. He opened his mouth to say something else when the sink in the nearby kitchen exploded. The water snaked through the air and gathered at the end of Aqualad's water-bearers.

"Now that I have your attention once more, can we all focus?" He requested, a stern frown on his face. After they nodded, Aqualad sheathed the bearers and crossed his arms. "We need to keep all the children from panicking any further. To do that, those with the most recognizable partners will be acting in The League's place. However, Naruto, you don't resemble yours, but you do resemble-"

"Oh, you have got to be kidding!" Naruto groaned. He gestured at his custom outfit. "What part of this says Spandex of Green Lantern!? Seriously, do I not look like a ninja?"

"Eh, more of a masked green commando if you asked me," Victor said. Robin snickered into his hand.

"Shut it, Traffic Light!"

"Hey!"

"Robin, Naruto, please do not make the fighting," Koriand'r requested. She floated over and grabbed Naruto's hand. "Friend Naruto, when I first came to this world, you protected me with the abilities and acts of a Green Lantern. I trusted you because you resembled them. The children of this world will not trust The Green, but they will trust you. Please?"

His thoughts went to the boy at Jump City High. He ran a hand through his hair, and sighed.

"Okay, fine. But none of you can call me Green Lantern. I'm still going to be 'Sage'," he said firmly. Kid Flash smiled and nodded, but it wasn't one he would trust. Similar grins were on Superboy's and Robin's faces. Whatever. He'd take what he could get, and if they tried anything, he'd show them why they called him the Prank King of Konoha.

Naruto held his ring up and was engulfed in a flash of light.

* * *

When the flash died down, it revealed that Sage - _Naruto_ , she reminded herself - had changed only the upper part of his costume. Gone was the flak jacket and black shirt, replaced by a long-sleeved shirt that clung to his chest like a second skin. The green cuffs around his arms made the ensemble resemble the second Green Lantern's. Like that Lantern, Sage's new top was primarily black, save for the green collar and shoulders, and the emissive green insignia in the center of his chest.

It was worse than the mesh shirt, she decided. Framing his form and partially covering it was one thing, but putting it on blatant display with a top like that was torture. She banished those thoughts as quickly as she could. She had to focus. It was hard, though. Almost as hard as his-No, bad Courtney!

 _Keep your gaze away from his abs._ _Those sweet, rock hard ab-no! Focus! Michael is alone right now!_ Courtney scolded herself. She should not be ogling her...friend? Associate? Possible eye candy? Her hormones were betraying her, always when she least expected it.

"Passable?" Sage asked, holding his arms out. He glanced at the black gloves that covered his hand and they disappeared.

"Not the pants?" Kid Flash asked.

"You'll never see my legs, Banana Peel."

Oh, great, now she was thinking about his legs.

"Dude. Not funny."

"I have nature having a crisis in my head, a few hundred something kids in my city freaking out because their parents are gone, and now I have to look like the heroes that I'm constantly mistaken for. So yeah, I need every laugh I can get, 'ttebayo."

The snark helped Courtney focus on his face. It was almost as bad as his chest. He'd lost the mask, his headband looked more like one of those samurai face-guards she'd seen in a cartoon. It framed his jawline, made his glowing green eyes pop, and covered his birthmarks. Were they birthmarks or scars?

"What's wrong with The Green?" Aqualad asked.

Wait.

The Green was _real_?

Crap.

Courtney and Victor shared a quick look. They'd given Sage a hard time over his powers and resembling the Green Lanterns, but The Green itself was a concept that was alien to them. They were urban millennials. To them, trees and grass were just _there_. Thinking about those Green things having a mind was alien to them, almost as alien as most of the people in the room.

"Besides screaming at me? It's like it doesn't know where anything is. Which, you know, is weird," Sage said, shrugging. "At least, compared to what it's usually complaining about."

"Great, Nature itself has no clue what's going on." Superboy scoffed. Sage gained a dark scowl for just a brief moment before he lightened up and crossed his arms.

"And we do?"

That certainly made the boy of steel clam up. The glare he gave Sage would've melted him on the spot. If, y'know, he had heat vision. Did he have heat vision? What exactly was his relationship to Superman? Wasn't he the _last_ Kryptonian? Who was this guy, anyway?

Courtney resolved to ask Sage about him later. Like when she was asking about him being from another dimension. How was that even possible!?

Focus!

"Robin, we need to broadcast a warning around the world. The sooner we address the kids, the better." Aqualad said.

"It'll take a few minutes to get that arranged," Robin said. He turned to the Cave's computer and began to type into it. "Getting in is easy, keeping the firewalls at bay for an emergency broadcast-?"

"Is a piece of cake. Give me thirty seconds and I'll have a backdoor ready in every station from here to Australia," Victor said as he walked up to the computer. A cable extended from his arm and connected him to the mainframe. He closed his eyes and his cybernetic prosthetics began to glow. A minute ticked by before the glow ended and he grinned. "Done. We've now got links to every broadcast station across the globe. We'll be televised and on the radio. Well, internet radio, anyway."

"...Yeah, I could do that too if I were part robot," Robin said, frowning. He grinned. "Not bad, Victor Stone."

"Same to you...Dick."

"Dick?" Starfire and Zatanna asked, one confused and the other amused. Kid Flash started snickering into his hand. Robin's grin fell and he glared at Vic, while the machine man kept a victorious smile on his face.

"How'd you-?"

"I'm pretty much monitoring the Internet, dude," Vic said. Sage-er, Naruto shook his head and crossed his arms.

"I knew that interweb thing was bad news."

"We go live in five. Let's prepare the message for broadcast." Aqualad instructed, getting nods from all around. Courtney hovered near Victor, but stayed near the

* * *

 **Fawcett City, November 5th, 2010**

Billy Batson was not having a good day. His caretaker and guardian, "Uncle" Dudley Dudley, had just vanished out of thin air. The nearest Zeta Tube had just rejected his access code because it didn't recognize him as Captain Marvel, which he was, but only after he said the Word of Power, granted to him by The Wizard, Shazam.

"And I can't even say the Wizard's name because if I do _I_ might be teleported! God, why is everything so complicated?" Billy asked aloud as he strolled past an electronic store. He stopped and backed up when five familiar faces appeared on the screens. Billy stared at them for a minute before grinning and running up to the window of the electronic store. "Yes! The Team's safe!"

" _Attention, teens and children of the Earth,_ " Aqualad said on the screen. He placed a hand on his chest and gestured with the other to the heroes gathered at his side. " _I am Aqualad, with me are other heroes who worked with the absent members of the Justice League. Robin, Artemis, Kid Flash, and Sage._ "

" _We know that you're scared, maybe even angry that your parents and family are gone_ ," Kid Flash said. " _Head to your local schools and stay safe there._ "

" _We know the urge to run wild is tempting, but please try not to_ ," Artemis said. " _We urge our fellow young heroes, wherever they are, to help keep others out of trouble. Don't start any fights, now isn't the time._ "

" _We will fix this,_ " Robin said, " _We swear to fix this as soon as possible._ "

" _Until then, keep calm, and stay safe,_ " Sage said. He demonstrated his cloning ability. " _I am a Lantern with the ability to make my own corps. Fifty of my clones will spread to every city, small or large._ "

"His new look is awesome." Billy couldn't help but compliment. He shook his head and raced off. "I don't have time for this, I need to get to Rhode Island."

He hurried towards the airfield, praying someone under eighteen knew how to fly.

0 line 0

"That's all we can do for now," Naruto said. He crossed his arms and made his way to Mount Justice's exit. Doing the math in his head, he grimaced. Almost six thousand clones, the feedback from The Green was going to suck so hard.

"Can you make that many clones?" Stargirl asked, both she and Cyborg leveled him with worried looks. The blond shinobi stopped, turned and gave them both a lopsided grin.

"I haven't done it in a while, but I think I should be able to," he said. "What's a few thousand clones?"

"Uh, you'd need make roughly two hundred, twenty thousand to meet your promise," Robin said after a quick mental calculation.

"Well, no better time to set a new personal record," Naruto said. He rubbed the back of his neck and grimaced. "Though, the feedback is going to be a bitch."

"Feedback?" Cyborg asked. "Oh, the memory and exhaustion transference."

"Yeah, you see, every clone I make makes its own connection with The Green," Naruto said. He manifested a holographic image, depicting his ability in a crude drawing. "When a clone dispels, that energy and mental strain comes right back to me."

"But, would not such overwhelming strain bring monstrous pain to the brain?" Kori asked with a frown.

"You say that like he's got a brain to strain," Superboy grumbled. Cyborg and Stargirl frowned, the former stepped over to the Kryptonian clone.

"Look, I don't know what your deal is, but you need to back off. Whatever the hell Sage did to you guys in the past needs to stay there," he said. Cyborg pointed at the screens and manipulated them, highlighting the inhabited areas around the world. "In case you didn't notice, we kind of have a world crisis going on. So how about you act like the hero you're supposed to be, and stop with all the high school drama?"

A silence filled the cave. Superboy stared down at his feet with clenched fists and tensed shoulders, while the rest of The Team rubbed their arms or shifted awkwardly.

"...Wow, um, thanks Vic," Naruto said, owlish eyes locked on the cybernetic hero. Cyborg rounded on him, his robotic eye glowing.

"You're still here?! Dude, get going!"

"Right! Right, I'm on it!" Naruto shook himself out of his stupor and shot out of the Cave. Once he was clear, he crossed his fingers and made his clones. Two hundred twenty thousand streams of green light rocketed around the planet. The original headed to the group going to Russia and sent a clone back to the cave, to keep some distance from The Team. The wound was still fresh, and he felt worse with each moment spent there.

" _You do know that eventually, that the robot and the girl will learn the truth,_ " the Voice said. It was a truth he was preparing himself for, but not fully ready to face. As most did with such hurdles, he ignored it and the Voice growled in response. " _You cannot ignore me forever, Brother!_ "

 _Watch me,_ Naruto thought with narrowed eyes. He pushed more energy through his body and willed his speed to increase.

* * *

"An airhead, I swear... Alright, so what's our game plan?" Victor asked, turning to Aqualad with arms crossed.

"You should probably return to your city and help keep the peace there," Aqualad said. "The Team will handle finding the source of the problem."

"Wow, that's it?" Victor asked, incredulous and a little upset. He gestured to the cable that retracted into his arm. "Did you not just see me connect to all over the world in less than a minute? I can monitor and filter data faster than any algorithm you've got."

"Hate to burst your bubble, Tin Man, but nothing is faster than The Batcomputer," Robin said. Victor looked at him with a slacked jaw.

"The Batcomputer? Is that what was piggybacking onto my server!?" He asked. He shuddered. "I feel a little violated...You know what that thing had to have seen? How many Gotham-related crimes that are logged in it?"

"Yeah," Robin and Artemis deadpanned. They each pointed a thumb at their respective chests, "We're _from_ Gotham."

"...Oh. Sorry," Victor said with an apologetic grimace. He rubbed the back of his head. "Well, are you sure that there's nothing I can do?"

"Vic," Stargirl grabbed his arm and pulled him down to hiss in his audio receptor. "Mikey's still at the school. We have a city to worry about."

"Yeah, but Sage has like fifty clones working the streets and helping out," Victor said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Besides, the more we hang around them, the more we learn about our cross-dimensional Lantern. I still can't believe that!"

He really couldn't. Alien, sure, that was easy to wrap your head around when someone like Superman existed, but other-dimensional being? That's the sort of thing they lock you up for.

"Yeah, me either," Stargirl trailed off. She paused, likely weighing the pros and cons of his argument, but ultimately shook her head. "I can't leave that to him, Vic. I have to make sure Mikey's safe, and I'll feel better knowing you're there at the school with me. You know the city better than Sage or I do."

Damn, it was hard to say no to that kind of logic. Even his processor agreed that the city would be fifty-three point five-seven-three-nine percent safer if he were there with them.

"Alright. We'll head back." Victor sighed. He would just have to find out more about Sage next time, or wait until he could corner the bugger.

"We'll set up a Zeta-Tube to send you back to Los Angeles," Aqualad said with a nod. He stepped up to them and offered his hand. "Thank you for all your help, Cyborg. Stargirl."

"Anytime," Stargirl said with a quick shake of Aqualad's hand. Victor took the hand after she released it.

"Hopefully the next time we meet there won't be a crisis," he said. Aqualad smiled and nodded again, agreeing.

As they entered the Zeta Tube, Victor's audio receptors caught Superboy's soft mutter.

"Don't hold your breath, buckethead."

* * *

Naruto's first trip to Russia would be one to remember, primarily because he assigned himself to Krasnoyarsk. A decision that he would forever claim to be one of the best decisions in his life.

The first thing that really made an impression on him was the city's landscape. The Green was _strong_ here. The pines that scattered about between buildings were rich with life, and added color to the otherwise drab urban setting. It was more than what Jump City could say, and considering that was where he decided to plant his feet, that was saying something.

Then he realized that it was cold. Actually, calling the area cold would be an understatement: it was _freezing_. It was so cold that one clone hocked a loogie and it froze a second after it left the clone's lips. It would've been funny, had the incident not been attempted above the Krasnoyarsk Lion. Hopefully, no one would notice that the Lion's left ear was now imbedded in the street below.

 _Thank the Parliament that I get some protection from the weather, otherwise my teeth would be chattering,_ Naruto thought. He had left his clones and the kids that had gathered within the incomplete Strelka Tower to find a Lieutenant Kovar, a young man that was viewed by the people of Krasnoyarsk as their hero. Now he was flying through a small blizzard in northern Siberia to find a kid that should've been helping him.

" _Even with the Green protecting you, I think they already are,_ " Kurama said. Naruto wrapped his arms around himself and shivered.

 _Don't have to tell me twice_. He balled his right hand into a tighter fist and looked over his new attire. _This thing barely does anything. At least my flak jacket kept me warm._

A whisper in the back of his head alerted him to something that endangered The Green.

"Great. Like, I don't have enough on my plate right now?" Naruto grumbled as he headed towards the threat. He flew into the wood, banking around trees to the point that he eventually forgot what direction he entered from, before he spotted a bright glow in the distance. Kurama let out a warning growl, which made him arch a brow. "Whoa, what's got you so upset?"

" _The Red has informed me that there is a creature that has been altered from its proper state, its instincts are overridden with the fight response. Be ready._ "

"For what?" Naruto asked. "A mutant bear?"

" _How the hell should I know? I'm only relaying the message._ "

"Fair enough." The blond relented and pressed on, his body tense and ready for anything. An uprooted, half blasted tree suddenly broke through the foliage, coming from the direction of the glow. Naruto floated up and over it, a brow twitching in annoyance as The Green demanded justice to be served. He glanced down at his ring and scowled at it.

"You are so lucky that your reaction can be chalked up to venting," he muttered before he floated through the tree's flight path. What he came across was the third reason that he was glad he joined his Russian-bound clones.

A boy, somewhere around thirteen or fourteen, was in the middle of a clearing. He had a crimson Russian Star on either shoulder and plastered on the center of the back of his military fatigues. The boy was wrestling some kind of ten-foot-tall creature made of glowing energy.

"Why couldn't it have been a mutant bear?" Naruto asked, looking up at the sky as if it would answer. It didn't. He sighed, then put on a determined scowl and flew into the clearing. The faster that thing was taken care of, the better.

"Incoming!" He shouted to warn the young hero as the blond thrust his ring fist forward. From the ring came a large green recreation of Rock Lee, the construct's leg extended in a flying jump kick. The boy dove out of the construct's way, allowing it to crash into the creature and knock it through the woods. It plowed down no less than a dozen pine trees.

The Green was not amused.

"Sorry, okay? I didn't think it would fly that far," Naruto said with a wince as his Life-Force scolded him. He floated down and stopped next to the boy, offering his hand. "You alright?"

"A Green Lantern?" the boy asked, ignoring the offer and rising to his feet. He held his head for a minute before it snapped up. "The monster!"

"Easy, kid," Naruto tried to calm him down. "You just got whacked pretty hard. Take a moment and-"

"Do not treat me like a child!" The boy scowled at the older teen for a moment, before he sighed and then stood at attention. "My apologies, Green Lantern. My name is Lt. Leonid Konstantinovitch Kovar. You may address me by my code name: Star-Fire."

* * *

 **AN: I don't have anything to say other than my head hurts, and it's not related to this. School still sucks up time (for both of us), so we've been pecking away at this chap for a while.**

 **It's done, it's out. Y'all know what we like to see!**

 **Review,** _ **komrade**_ **!**


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